


A cold dish

by Valaena_the_Historyteller1



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:28:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 13
Words: 46,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26376538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Valaena_the_Historyteller1/pseuds/Valaena_the_Historyteller1
Summary: When Jon was born at the Tower of Joy, Ned Stark and company were not the only men to arrive. Jon Connington arrived there with the intention of taking Jon away from them. Lord Stark agrees, not wanting to subject his nephew to a bastard s live. Years later, after tragedy strikes, Jon comes back to Westeros, to Winterfell with a goal. After all, revenge is a dish best served cold, and this dragon is burning to achieve it... with Fire and Blood.
Relationships: Catelyn Stark/Ned Stark, Jon Snow & Aegon VI Targaryen & Rhaenys Targaryen (Daughter of Elia), Jon Snow & Arya Stark
Comments: 20
Kudos: 79





	1. Birth

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Here is another fic I couldn´t keep out of my head. Hope you like it!
> 
> A song of ice and fire is not mine, is property of George R. R. Martin.

Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell was panting, nearly falling into the ground, when the scream reached his ear, waking him up. With new energy shooting up in his body, he raced upstairs, followed by Howland Reed, leaving the bodies of their fallen companions and dead Kingsguard behind in the sands of Dorne. The Tower of Joy wasn´t very tall, but for Ned it very well could be as high as the Eyrie, as the stair didn´t seem to end soon enough. Finally the men reached the sole room on the top, finding the room filled with winter roses.

"What…?" he asked, noticing his sister on the bed, covers red with blood, and the sole scared woman who was between her parted legs. For a second he considered cutting her with his sword when he noticed she wasn´t trying to hurt his sister. In fact, she was trying to help her.

"NED!" Lyanna screamed in obvious pain, gripping the sheets as she felt her forces slipping from her grasp. "Maester… tell me… a maester… you…"

"I… I didn´t bring any maester, I… I didn´t know…" the lord of the crannogman pushed his distressed liege lord out of his way. he received some medical training while he was studying in the Island of Faces, so he knew, at least in theory, how to birth a baby. It was something his teacher felt was important for him to learn, no matter what his opinion on the matter was. Or at least he would be of more help than the shell shocked Stark. Apologizing to the lady for the intrusion, he worked to save both mother and son. He quickly found the problem, it was a breech. The crannogman began to manipulate the belly to turn the child around. Finally, he managed to move the baby in the woman´s belly so the birth can continue.

"Oh… Au! I´m going to kill Robert Baratheon as soon as I can! I swear I will do!" screamed the girl when her son´s head crowned. Ned was miraculously woken up from his stupor at the sound of that claim.

"Robert did this?!"

"Of course not! I wouldn´t let this happened if it was… OH!" the young woman screamed over and over again, as the short man worked, her brother stood completely still in his corner like a terrified child and the midwife brought hot water and towels. The child arrived sooner than later, wailing his first few breaths into the world. Lyanna, exhausted, raised her weak arms towards her baby. "Give me my child… give me…"

"Here, my lady. Congratulations, it´s a boy" Howland said, letting the midwife clean the babe for a second and then putting him in his mother´s arms. Lyanna received her child into her arms, cooing weakly at him before covering it in a black blanket with a red three headed dragon. The crannogman smiled, trying not to let his sadness and distress show. The mother was still losing blood and there was nothing he could do. The sheets were…

"Ned…" the girl called weakly. "Ned…"

"I´m here" her brother answered, returning to live from the stone statue he had been before. He stared at his sister for a second, caressing her brown locks of hair. His hand rested for a second in the sheets, wet and red with her lifeblood, making his palm crimson when he lifted it again. He stared at it for a second. "Give her some water!"

"No… Ned… listen… listen to me…"

"Howland… Howland, can you do something? Please" unfortunately, the short man was out of luck. Lyanna caught her attention again. She was going to die, and soon. There was no time to lose, especially with her babe´s life on the line.

"Ned… Ned… listen to me, please, listen to…" she continued, catching his attention again. "Please listen to me" he grabbed her hand when she searched for his. "I didn´t… didn´t want to marry that whoremonger Robert… and Rhaegar… I loved him with all my hearth… and I love this baby" she said, balancing her tiny son in her arms. He was unusually quiet since his crying stopped, like… solemn. Too much for a babe barely a few minutes old. "You didn´t understood. No one did."

"I´m sorry" he said, not knowing what else he could say. It was true that Lyanna expressed her wishes to break the betrothal between her and the Baratheon thousands of times, but never in his wildest dreams would have he imagined that she would elope with the Silver Prince to avoid it. "Lya, I´m sorry, I´m so sorry" he continued with tears in his eyes. "For not listening to you, for not stopping father, for Rhaegar´s death… for… for… for everything…" he didn´t know what more to say. "Lya, I´m here to take you home, I will take both of you home"

"Ned… big brother… hear me" she demanded. She didn´t want to die, but she was sure her clock was ticking. "I want to be brave…"

"You are"

"Brother, please" she breathed in, trying to resist. "Listen… my babe… his name is Jaeherys Targaryen" she listed the tiny form so his uncle could see him. The boy fixated his grey eyes on him, making Eddard gasp. "You have to protect him… Robert will kill him if… promise me, Ned. Promise me you will keep… my baby safe… promise me… promise me…"

"I promise" swore him. Lyanna smiled weakly, putting the babe in his arms. She breathed in a few more times, caressing her son´s soft brown hair, until she finally stopped. Her hand fall, signalling that she was finally dead. Ned fell to the ground in his knees, his nephew firmly held between his arms, wailing. The adult soon joined him, being left alone in the room with the infant.

"What was the prince thinking leaving her like that without a maester?" said Howland, looking down at the corpses of his fallen comrades and the Kingsguard. They were not supposed to die. No one was supposed to die.

"He thought… he thought he was going to arrive in time to take her to Starfall… for the birth"

"Rhaegar expected to arrive here in time from the Trident? He needed more geography lessons if he expected to…" a horse whining was suddenly heard, followed by a rider appearing in the horizon. The man wore a full armour, even with the blazing sun of Dorne over them. Reed grabbed his spear, pointing it at the man. This one took off his helmet, shaped in the form of an eagle. Or a griffin. "Lord Connington"

"What happened here?" asked the former Hand of King Aerys, looking around himself, then at the crannogman. "Ser Arthur, Ser Oswell and Ser Gerold…"

"They were Kingsguard until the end, even if it costed them their lives. All because they wouldn´t betray their prince´s secrets… just like you" the lord of the neck continued pointing at him. "I suppose you are not here to coach the lady through the birth, no?"

"I´m here to take her to Starfall to have her child, as I promised the prince in case he didn´t came back"

"Then you are a little bit late, the babe is already here. Lord Stark is with them now" Howland moved his spear a little. He wasn´t letting that man near his liege lord in full battle armour. "Surrender your weapons and armour, mi lord, and I will let you through."

"You…" Connington bit his tongue and gave the crannogman his weapons and armour. The man run upstairs as fast as he could, finding a grieving Eddard Stark over his sister´s body with a distressed bundle in his arms, which he barely could keep there. He didn´t know what to say. "Give the babe to me, Stark. I promised Rhaegar that I would make sure it lives."

"Jon Connington, what are you doing here?" asked Eddard, rising from his spot near Lyanna´s bed. His eyes were as icy as the name of his ancestor´s sword. "I supposed you were coming to take her to Pentos in the name of the bloody fool who led her to this place. Tell me, why should I hand you my nephew, who she entrusted to me? Or why should you live this place alive?"

"She gave birth earlier" explained the Griffin lord, sighing in exasperation. "I was supposed to have time to go to exile in Pentos, turn around secretly, secure Princess Elia´s children in Starfall and come here to take your sister there for her delivery" he crossed his arms, frowning. "I never imagined that she would give birth earlier."

"She felt downstairs when she found out the prince died" commented a comely female voice. They turned around and saw the midwife and Howland Reed there. She extended her arms towards the northern lord. "the little prince, please. He must be hungry and…"

"If someone is going to feed him, that´s going to be me" clarified Ned, glaring daggers at the redhead and dornishwoman. "Bring me the milk while I talk to Lord Connington here. Howland, please stay." They all sat down. "Now, what were you going to say about the royal children?"

In the next hour, they learned about the miraculous rescue the Griffin made on Rhaegar´s orders. Apparently, the babes that were murdered along with the princess in King´s Landing were doubles, as Jon used a secret passage to sneak the true kids all the way to Starfall before coming here to pick Lyanna´s babe. As he had to fake his exile to avoid getting killed by an enraged madman, he had to go all the way to Essos and return at full speed. By the end of the speech, lord Stark´s frown was the deepest he had ever seen.

"So… you came here to take my nephew to who knows where in Essos, no?" the northman said after hearing his history. "Because Rhaegar asked you to take his wives and children to exile in case he lost his life." The redhead nodded, not wanting to lose his breath with that fool. "And what of Princess Elia?"

"I told her of our plan, but she urged me to take the children and leave. Apparently, she believed that she was far too recognizable to be mistaken for a double and that the exchange wouldn´t work without her there."

"So she sacrificed herself to save her children. What a beautiful history you have there, Connington" the northman answered. "And my sister…"

"She wasn´t to give birth yet" answered the man, crossing his arms. Howland and Eddard understood immediately. That fateful fall downstairs changed everything. "I wasn´t supposed to arrive too late."

"I should…"

"My lord" Howland Reed intervened in that moment, trying to prevent any form of fight between the two men. They both wanted to take the babe with them and weren´t about to back down, but the fact was that the three of them were committing high treason just by being in this place, a crime punishable by death, and if they took too much time, the mighty stag might get bored enough to follow them there. If he found the baby or evidence of his existence… "I would advice you to make this decision in another place. The infant will need a wetnurse soon enough and the Lady a Silent Sister."

"Lord Reed, I know that, but…"

"Decisions could be taken in another time, in another place. Perhaps after you sent a letter to your friend, King Robert, announcing your sister´s death. That would dampen his spirits enough to avoid him following us" The crannogman continued, making Eddard bite his lip. His bannerman was talking with wisdom, but even so… he didn´t want to move right now. Not after losing his little sister. "My Lord, once you are with a clearer mind, you will have painful things to do. Decisions need to be taken, and fast, to assure this child´s survival. Do you understand me?"

"I can´t leave here… not now…" said Ned, fighting to avoid breaking down crying. His forebearers would frown upon him if he dared to stain the honour of the Starks by crying in front of an enemy like Jon Connington.

"You can have until tomorrow, milord, but no more. By break of dawn, we should depart towards…"

"Starfall" finished the griffin for him. "It has to be Starfall. Lady Dayne is an old acquaintance of yours, so you find her trustworthy enough to use the wetnurse she would provide for her. And she is also a loyalist, so much that she let me use her port and castle to secure the Targaryen children before smuggling them to Essos." Eddard nodded. That sounded like something Ashara would do, especially for her dearest friend Elia. "It´s also distant enough for our heads to cool off on the way there."

"Then Starfall it is" announced Howland, glad that they reached a compromise. He then pulled on Connington´s clothes and dragged him by the arm outside. The Griffin stared strangely at the crannogman while they walked down the stairs, into the body littered desert around the Tower. There Reed gave him a shovel. "You could have done something. You were a brother to him, you should have tried to talk some sense into him."

"Well, I´m not the only brother who could have done the same, no? Or friend" the redhead glared at him, then sighed, beginning to dig graves. "Does he knew what really happened at Harrenhal?"

"No, and now I will make sure he DOESN´T know"

"Come on, he should. Then he would know what kind of man his DEAR friend is" for a second, the lord of Greywater Watch felt tempted to do exactly that, especially for Lady Lyanna, but then he remembered what they were about to do, what exactly was at the Tower.

"It doesn´t matter now. Robert Baratheon IS King, there is nothing more to say" said the short man, not really convinced. Damming the day he knew the mighty stag, Howland remembered the events that led to this very same tower. And no, it was not the infamous Winter Rose Coronation Day. It was the night before…

-Flashback to Harrenhal-

"… no, really, Benjen. I can find my own chambers by myself" Lyanna Stark walked through the corridors with her brother and Howland Reed, trying to find the way out. After the whole joust and chasing fiasco, all she wanted to do was crash on her bed and sleep. The other two were also tired, but also worried about her safety. And how could she not be? The King himself declared her an enemy! That meant something… well, it could if anyone but them knew she was the mystery knight. Still…

"Lya, it´s no problem, I´m also full and…"

"My dear Lyanna!" a terribly drunk Robert Baratheon stepped in sight. Both Starks scrunched up their noses and the crannogman´s eyes went wide. This was the man Lord Rickard wanted his daughter to marry? His quiet second son´s best friend? Seriously? He knew the man was boisterous, but… "Great to find you here!"

"I´m tired, I´m going to sleep" answered the woman coldly. Her betrothed was not to her liking, that was obvious. And his smell of wine was also "Good night, Lord Baratheon."

"Come on, don´t be so cold with me" the man approached her and her companions, grabbing her by the arm. It was obvious that he was using too much strength, as the lady bit back a pained sound. "We are betrothed; we should be knowing each other more intimately."

"Let me go, you drunkard" said the girl, struggling against him.

"You heard her, let my sister go" Benjen got in the middle, already packing a punch to protect his sister. Unfortunately, the Baratheon was less than receptive when in drunken state. So much that he could punch the full grown Eddard into the floor. Just like poor little Benjen was about to find out.

"Lyanna… let´s put ourselves more comfortable…"

"Unhand me, you brute!" she struggled more, hitting the Stormlord over the head. "I don´t know what you think of me, but I´m not one of your whores to open my legs for you. Not now and not ever. You are not my husband to demand that of me…"

"We don´t have to wait until the wedding, I will still…"

"I don´t care! Leave me alone!"

The corridor was a mess of screams and struggling now, with Robert struggling with Lyanna, who was fighting with all her might, scratching and biting, while Benjen and Howland tried to overpower the mighty stag. Both of them were thinking the same: How could Lord Rickard want his daughter to marry a man that would dishonour her? They didn´t have much time for more, because that man punched them into the floor. The next thing the both of them heard was a scream and cloth ripping, as Lyanna´s dress was ripped, nearly leaving her breasts bare. Benjen saw red…

"Leave the lady alone!" another person came in defence of Lyanna. It was Rhaegar, who passed nearly over the youngest Stark to push his enraged cousin away from her. "Now, milord, you should rethink your behaviour around…"

"Don´t tell me what to do, you girly silver prick!" the Baratheon answered. The prince raised an eyebrow. That was no way to talk to the future King. "She is my betrothed! I will behave with her as I want!" the black haired man grabbed him by his shirt. "You better walk out of here and…"

"I would never leave a lady defenceless" the two soon engaged into a fistfight, one which Benjen eagerly joined after picking himself up from the floor. Thanks to his drunkenness, Robert´s punches were easy to dodge, but he was still a foe to be reckoned with. Rhaegar and Benjen were about to be sent to the floor when there was a crash and the Stormlord became limp. He felt to the floor with an audible sound. They all stared then at Lyanna, who now held an antique stone vase, which she used to hit the Lord Paramount over the head.

"Is he dead?" she asked, a little bit worried. Killing a Lord Paramount was a crime punishable with death, something she didn´t want to face, but at the same time, that could very well liberate her from the awful betrothal.

"I don´t think so" answered the Targaryen, feeling his cousin´s neck. "Let´s just thank that he has an awfully thick head" said Rhaegar, turning to Lady Lyanna. Upon realising her state, he blushed and lowered his gaze, untying his cloak to offer it to her. "We should stop meeting like this, mi lady."

"Yes, we should" she said, covering herself, blushing. This was the second time the prince helped her to escape a horrible man, so excuse her for acting like a damsel in distress. She stared at the stag. "We should get out of here, he is going to wake up sooner or later."

"Sure…" they all were silent as they retreated to the lady´s tent… at least part of the way. "I can´t believe your father is planning to give you to such a man, milady. You deserve better"

"I know" Benjen answered. Howland and him were furious, but not as much as Lyanna herself. "If only I could find a way to break that betrothal…"

"You can´t… but we can do something" realised the prince, suddenly having an idea. "I will write a letter to Lord Rickard about Lord Baratheon´s shameful behaviour towards your person, milady, and sign it with my signature and seal. Lord Benjen and Lord… Reed can add their signatures as witnesses to the event."

"Thank you, it would mean a lot to me" they all smiled. In that moment they believed it was all going to be alright, but the next day Rhaegar crowned Lyanna and all the smiles died, making the four rethink about that previous statement…

-End of the Flashback-

Lord Reed returned to reality the moment they left the Tower of Joy with little Jaeherys in the wetnurse´s arms. In that moment they underestimated Lord Rickard´s desire for power and the feelings being borne between Rhaegar and Lyanna, not knowing of the tragedy that was about to befall them… but that poor creature… he didn´t deserved to bear the brunt of their sins. Nor he deserved the fate that awaited him as a bastard in Winterfell.

That was why, a few days later, seeing Connington disappear in a ship with the little prince and Wylla, he knew that it was the right thing to do. After all, in Essos he would be with family.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Don´t hate for this, but I had to do it for the history. Hope you enjoy it... or just feel the need to kill Tywin Lannister. Or Amory Lorch or Gregor Clegane.

"Tell me the tale again!" a five name day old Young Griff asked his adoptive father as Rhae grabbed him and put him in her lap. Jon, a much more calmed child, just smiled at his brother´s antiques. The Old Griff just sighed. Raising his long dead loved one´s children was a busy work and it seemed to never end, but somehow rewarding. After all, by the end of the day he could almost feel his silver prince with him. And each of them reminded him to Rhaegar in some way. Rhaenys with her sweet voice and harp, Aegon with his silver locks and purple eyes, and Jaeherys with his melancholic personality and rare smiles.

"Come on, Egg… Griff, settle down. We have to sleep" the princess said, taking a strand of hair out of her face. The girl looked each day more like her mother, minus the frailty. She also had a faint memory of her and the Lady Lyanna, who she saw more than once in Harrenhal, something that her brothers always wanted to hear about.

"I want him to tell one about The Hungry Wolf" said the youngest of the three, clutching a big dragon plushy Rhaenys gifted him in his last Birthday. Connington felt the need to sight again. For such a young fellow, the boy showed a lot of promise in the strategic and warfare camp. Or that was what the cyvasse board said. And he loved battlefield histories. "Or the Battle of the Dawn."

"Bah, we already had a history lesson in the morning, we don´t need another one. I want a terrifying history!" screamed the demanding little king. Jon rolled his eyes before settling the children in the bed. The restless Aegon tried to get up, but the princess kept him down. After all, if he didn´t get a night´s rest, he got quite cranky. "I want to hear of the Trident again! Not history!"

"That´s history too, Egg" told him the youngest Targaryen, still hugging his plushy.

"Yes, but… it´s about us. Or that was what Griff said, no? About us and our mothers" with this, the Stormlord knew Jaeherys had lost the battle. Every time this explanation was given by his older brother, the little one accepted. "Please, Griff?"

"As my little king orders" the man cleared his throat. "This is about a silver dragon. He was the wisest, gentlest and most beautiful being in all creation. When he sang the world seemed to stop, just to listen to his words, and maidens wept feeling his melancholy. His voice was sweeter than…" Rhaenys eyed their caregiver. He must have loved her father very much to speak about him like that. "He was married to a woman warm as the sun, who gave him two little dragons. A boy and a girl. But she wasn´t very healthy and soon it became apparent that he needed another wife."

"What happened?"

"There was a tournament" continued the Connington Lord. He was going to alter the history to leave out the part of the Mad king and his perverted sadistic antics, but it was not something apt for children. "The biggest tournament in the known world. Knights attended from all over the realm to compete in it and maidens swooned every time they passed in front of them, pleading one would ask her for a favour."

"The dragon was there?"

"Yes, the dragon was there. He was going to compete too" the man continued with the history. "As well as a young she wolf from the North, who left her cold halls with her pack of brothers to meet her betrothed, a stag from the Storm" he frowned when he reached the part of the stag. "Now, most stags are proud solemn creatures, but this one was not. He spent all the days of the tourney drinking and chasing after other girls… so much the wolf maiden hated him. But, unfortunately, she couldn´t get free."

"Why not?"

"Well, her father won´t allow her for one and…" Connignton stared at them for a moment, deciding if he should explain the history a little bit more. Probably not, the three were still too little. "Anyway, she was friends with a lizard lion that got attacked by some pretentious squires, so she ran with sword in hand to protect him." he took a moment to give a trip down the memory lane. "But it was not enough, so she decided to avenge his honour and jousted against the squires knights in the tourney. She won and demanded the knights to teach their squires honour… something the king did not like. He ordered her to remove her helmet… so she escaped to avoid being exposed. The dragon went to find her…"

"And?"

"He found her… and protected her. They felt in love and some time later they wed each other in front of the hearth tree in the island of faces" he sighed, wishing it has been him. "But the stag didn´t take it well and made up a big lie to spark a war. He even got the wolf pack, the fishes and the falcons on his side. The dragon had to leave his wives with three eggs, one girl and two boys, and left for war. Guess what happened next?"

"The Trident!"

"He had to cross a river, but at the other side was the stag´s army. The armies met in the middle and… the stag turned into a true demon and killed the dragon. All hope was lost in that moment, the realm felt into despair. But the dragon left a hope behind, condensed in the three tiny eggs he left behind, knowing that it will hatch three beautiful dragons that would save the realm from the stag and his demons… banishing them to the darkness forever" he patted their heads. "Now, it´s time for the little ones to go to sleep. Goodnight."

"Goodnight!"

-Seven years later-

"Right! Left! Come on, Egg, focus. Are you going to let your little brother defeat you?" Rolly Duckfield, training the boys in the art of swordsmanship while Rhaenys practiced with her spear. Normally a woman of her station wouldn´t train with weapons, but they have reached an agreement to allow the princess to train with them, as she wanted like all good dornish lady and was seconded by Septa Lemore. Unfortunately for her brothers, she was also very good at that. Enough to quick their asses in the field.

"Time up, time up" demanded Aegon, breathing heavily. The war related part of being a king was never his strength. No, he was more of a thinker. He usually left the affairs of war to his brother, the cyvasse and weapons genius, but sometimes a king needed to do what a king needed to do. Battlefield was part of it. And he was determined to be a good king. "You know, brother, you should consider to join a sellswords company."

"It´s a little unbecoming of our station, don´t you think, brother?" asked Jaeherys, moving his sword in his hands with a skill worth a kingsguard. Egg smiled and lifted himself, ready to continue with the lesson, but Connington called them. The three of them. "Sorry for the interruption, Rolly, but Griff calls."

"No problem" the three ran towards their adoptive father.

"Skoros gaomagon ao pendagon jaelza, lēkia?" started the young King, looking at his siblings. Rhaenys, who was wearing pants and a tunic, looked nothing like the princess she was. But, as she always said, a lady needed to protect herself. A princess in exile even more.

"Nyke don´t gīmigon, maybe ziry se Lemore ēdas another vīlībagon nūmāzma raising īlva. Iā emi naejot dīnagon arlī kirimvose naejot se stag´s maniacal obsession lēda īlva" answered Jon, trying to keep the jokes at the bare minimum. Since the stag found out they were alive, the moving around Essos had doubled if not tripled. And with reason, as there have been very disturbing tales from wherever they have been. "Skoros nūmāzma ao, mandia?"

"Lo lī bandits emagon found īlva, ziry would already ivestretan īlva. Daor, nyke pendagon konīr iksis mirros tolī" the girl pushed the hair out of her face. "Mirre ñuhoso, īlon should jikagon se rȳbagon hae se sȳz …"

"Hey, stop using High Valyrian to confuse me" Connington appeared in front of them, rushing them inside their room. Lemore was already there, her veil discarded. And more strange, the windows were all covered and the room in darkness. The three frowned. He hadn´t been this secretive since he told them about their real identity. "I didn´t want to do this in a long time, but… they are getting close."

"What are you talking about?"

"Tywin Lannister is hunting you down to protect the legacy of his family. His daughter is married to Robert Baratheon and now that they have heirs… well, securing his line is more important than ever" he pulled two envelopes, sealed with orange wax with the sun and lance. "Before we left Westeros, Doran Martell was informed of your flee. We also pacted that if anything were to happen to me, you will go to Sunspear. Here" he gave them to Rhaenys and Aegon. "If you are ever in the need to flee, this is your safeguard to Dorne."

"And Jaeherys?" Connington suddenly looked uncomfortable. "Griff?" continued Aegon, not understanding, until it finally clicked. "they are our family, surely the same courtesy they gave to us is extended to our brother."

"Unfortunately, for them your brother is a non-desired person" he gulped. "I´m sorry, but the Martells never were precisely glad that your father ran away with his mother and never were notified of a second marriage, so their welcome is not extended to him. Otherwise" he extended a third letter, this sealed with a grey direwolf seal. "your mother´s family did. If you ever are alone or something happens to us, go anywhere in the North. This will protect you… at least from the lords."

"This is rid…"

"It´s the way it is, Aegon. During your future reign you are going to find plenty of situations like this, better get used to it. Injustice and tantrums you will find plenty among your lords." He extended another object towards him. "This is one of the few things from your father that I could rescue from King´s Landing. He made me promise that I would only give it you when you were ready to be king. Are you ready?"

"I am" the eleven years old nodded, trying to appear as mature as he felt. Griff put the thing on his palm, revealing the seal of the King of the Seven Kingdoms. Aegon looked in wonder at it, so much that Rhaenys had to snatch it and slip the ring on his finger to avoid him dropping it. "It´s a responsibility, do you understand?"

"Yes" the boy said.

"And keep those things safe. They can be your only chance of survival one day" the Old Griff said, ending the conversation. The trio excited the place, feeling a little bit more grown than before. And thoughtful.

Especially Jaeherys. That night, after hiding their safeguards in in their rooms, he stared at the ceiling in deep thoughts. It never bothered him a bit before, but… suddenly he looked at it in a new perspective. It´s just that… did anyone, apart from the Starks and Martells, knew that he existed? Or that he was legitimate? Did someone care? Don´t misunderstand him, life in Essos with his family wasn´t unpleasant, but how would they welcome him in the Sunset Kingdom? Would he be welcomed if he arrived there with his siblings?

"Oh, come on, stop mopping now" Rhaenys said after a few days of his brooding attitude. "Who cares about what uncle Doran and uncle Oberyn thought? You are our brother, now and ever" she handed him a portrait of the three. One a street artist did in a carnival in Pentos. "Iksā ānogar ānograro, lēkia, se daorun kostagon arlinnon bona"

"Skoros lo īlva lenton gaomas daor jiōragon nyke hae gaomā?"

"Then they suck it up" answered the princess, grabbing his arms. "Now get up and dress yourself. We are having a party to commemorate our alliance with the Golden Company and you are going. Understood?"

"Clear" he waited until she was out of the room to change clothes. He excited the room, all ready to charm their new allies. Aegon waved to him where he was, drinking with Harry Strickland. Well, not drinking, because he was probably not drinking, because alcohol was banned until they were of age, but…

"Egg, you little…" a horse whining was the first signal that something was wrong. The next one was soldiers with red and gold banners irrupting in the meeting place. Screams started next, as a man the size of a baby elephant started slashing his way through the hosts. Fear shot up in him and he ran towards his siblings. Or at least the only one he had in view. "Egg! Rhae! EGG! RHAE!"

"NO! STAY AWAY!" Rhaenys shout at him from somewhere, but he wasn´t listening anymore. He shot himself towards Aegon just in the second he started a fight with the gigantic man. Jaeherys continued running towards him, arriving just in time to see Strickland betraying Aegon, knocking his sword out of his hand while the big man slashed his side open. His brother´s hands flew to his injury, quickly staining red.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" the northern looking Targaryen screamed. Connington got in the middle of the fight, before the soldier with the three dogs could do more damage and allowing Jon to drag his brother away from the fight. He looked around frantically for his sister, but she was nowhere to be seen. "Aegon… Egg… brother… please… please don´t… just apply pressure. You can still… you can still…"

"I… this is… no use" answered the boy king, already feeling the live flowing out of him with his blood. The slash had been so deep and strong that it teared his side, even the organs. The younger one shook his head, desperately trying to help him. "Go… go towards Rhaenys. Find her and… protect her… our family" he extended a hand towards him, grabbing his clothes. "I´m going to be okay, but find our sister. Yes? Find her"

"Okay" he turned, exciting the place. "I will be back, yes? I will be back"

"I know" answered his brother. "I know. Now go"

"Yes…" he ran towards where Rhaenys was, just in time to see her being held by the hair by a man in a manticore armour. While being stabbed by him. A scream left his throat as he shot towards his sister, trying to save her. At least until a pair of hands stopped him.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, LAD?!" Rolly screamed, holding him tight. He was hurt, but still strong. He fought, screaming at him that he needed to reach his sister, that his brother was hurt and needed to get out of there, that he couldn´t find Lemore and Connignton and needed to make sure they were fine… Rolly gave him a look of pity, something he didn´t like. The boy thrashed more, but the smith´s son wasn´t going to allow him to waste his life. He liked those children and didn´t want them to die… at least not all of them. So he did the only thing that would prevent that: he knocked Jaeherys out and threw him under a boat. "Live a long live, lad… for all of us."

-A few hours later-

Jon woke up with a headache, trying to remember how the hell did he end up in such a place. Because the place was dark, humid and completely unhospitable. It took him five seconds to realize he was under a boat and to get out of it. The first thing he realised was that the soldiers were not longer there. But the place was a tomb. All the ground was filled with blood and gore and… and… so much blood.

"Rhae? Rhaenys?" he called, searching for his sister. "Egg? Griff? Lemore? Egg!" he searched everywhere, but the only clues he found was a necklace of Martell heraldry in a pool of blood (Rhaenys was wearing it in the party), more of the red liquid where Aegon was laying and… literally everywhere. He felt to the ground, on his knees, not wanting to believe it but knowing in his hearth that his family was dead. And that he was alone… completely alone in the world. Devastated, he picked up a cloth with a golden lion on it, clutching it to his hearth, even if it was still wet with blood. He cried, drowning his sorrows with tears.

Live lad… for all of us.

Rolly. He could still hear Rolly´s voice. Why… no, Duck would not say something like that to him without… but… he ran towards the Shy Maiden, congratulating himself for hiding his things so well. The ship was half sunk, but his room was still over the water. He searched until he found a hole on the floor. The same one he used for hiding things. out of it he pulled his mother´s box, one lord Connington gave to him on his tenth nameday. He pulled it open and quickly put the things he found in there. He also pulled his clothes from the closet, exciting the place. Rhaenys and Aegon´s rooms were under water, so… he took off his clothes and tried to swam to them. No use, he couldn´t see anything.

After trying to do it until midday. Hungry and wet and cold, not knowing what else to do, Jon revolved his personal things until he found the letter Griff gave him. the grey wax… his mother´s family, the Starks of Winterfell. The Lord Paramounts of the North.

If you ever are alone or something happens to us, go anywhere in the North

Knowing now what he needed to do, he got up from the floor. He had to find a ship to White Harbour and then… then he will figure it out…

-In King´s Landing, time later-

"I have a gift for you, your Grace" Lord Tywin Lannister said, entering the Throne Room. Robert Baratheon was there, drinking some wine while deciding if he should call one of his whore or just send Lancel for more wine. Everything but see the face of his goodfather. It was even worse than seeing his bitch of a wife.

"Yes? And what is it?"

"Victory" the lion Lord´s butchers put blood spattered packages on the floor, three in total. Some others entered behind, dragging a man in chains, who introduce himself as Ser Rolly Duckfield. "May I present Prince Aegon Targaryen, Princess Rhaenys Targaryen and the traitor that raised them, Lord Jon Connington."

"Magnificent!" the king exclaimed, suddenly happy despite the presence of his relatives. He poked the corpses with a sword, piercing Aegon´s body just for fun. "I was beginning to worry, but…this is the proof of my victory! The dragon spawns of that rapist are finally dead!" a laugh resounded through the place. It was the chained man. "What´s so funny?"

"You might have killed Egg, but the Targaryen legacy, his legacy, is still alive" said the man, glaring at the Baratheon. He knew nothing of Jaeherys and while it stayed that way… "And it´s not going to die. Never!"

"Oh, yes, the two others running around Essos. Don´t worry, I will soon send them to their dead family" promised the Storm king, picking up his Warhammer.

"Even like that, you will not kill the Targaryen legacy. Listen to my words, Usurper Robert Baratheon… YOU KNOW NOTHING!" he breathed in hard. "LONG LIFE KING…!"

"SHUT UP!" a swing of a hammer later, the knight laid dead on the floor. All the people in the throne room stared at the king. "What are you waiting for?! Hang them somewhere all people could see them!" he ordered, sitting down on the throne, breathing hardly. "Jon, please. Draft a letter to all the lords in the realm to say that… that Rhaegar´s children are dead and everybody is invited to see their rotting corpses if so they wanted. Do it."

"As his Grace command" Jon Arryn drafted the letters, wondering how to make his foster son rethink his decision and bury the poor children. A flight of a raven later, a certain northern lord sat down with the same worried expression, wondering if his nephew was still alive, if his life was spared by the butchers of that child killer Tywin, if… if he should wait before running south to see the bodies and reclaim a cold, little one to bury next to Lyanna. One that was not mentioned along with his half siblings. To clench his guilt, the lord walked to the godswood and knelt in front of the hearth tree.

"What to do? Please, tell me, what do I have to do? Have I failed Lyanna? Is he still alive?" the tree stayed in silence, but the crow in it´s branches no. It crowed. It was seeing… everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And how was the chapter? I know, I cried while I was writting the chapter. Like some of them, I wanted the children to survive until adulthood, but for the history to happen they needed to die. Well, now Robert and Tywin gained Jon´s eternal enmity. And Amory Lorch and Gregor Clegane. And he is in his way towards the North. What do you think it will happen? Review!


	3. Chapter 3

"I don´t understand, there was supposed to be a load of cheese more than the amount you got out of the cargo hold" said the man, looking around the vault. The talking woke up Jon, who was sleeping in the darkness of the ship bowels. He looked around the box he hid behind to sleep, to see if the sailors were about to find him, hiding something in his clothes at the same time. He couldn´t allow them to find him, or he would probably face death before even meeting the lord of White Harbour.

"Perhaps the rats ate it while we weren´t looking" answered the other sailor, making Jaeherys eye around himself for an escape route. Unfortunately for him, the men were blocking his only way towards freedom. The sailors advanced towards his hiding spot, still talking about rodents. They reached the back just in time to see him making a mad dash towards the light. He dodged sailors by miracle, hearing the first two behind him. "Deadhead! Stop him!"

"Catch him!"

"Stop that boy!"

"Stop the thief!" he managed to get off the vessel, running through the streets, dodging men that tried to catch him. He didn´t know where he was going, just that he somehow needed to reach the lord of the town and hand him the letter. That way Lord Stark would come to meet him. The castle must be somewhere around here, he needed to…

"Here!" someone knocked him down on the floor. Soon he was surrounded by other people, who started to kick him. he covered his head, clutching his bag strongly against his chest. They screamed at him thief and many other insults, wanting to punish him for stealing the cheese out of desperation for food in the long voyage from Essos to Westeros.

"Hey, stop there! Go away! All of you! Let that boy go!" fortunately for him, the city guard arrived in that moment, disbanding the mob of sailors. Only a few stayed there, standing over the boy, very angry. The lot of them came from the ship he boarded in Pentos. They lost a whole cheese because of this little rat and were not going anywhere without a payment or a punishment. "What happened?"

"This boy stole a whole cheese slice from our cargo hold and who knows what more when he was hiding in our ship like the essosi scum he is."

"Essosi? HE is essosi?" to the guard, the boy looked more northern than a lot of people he had seen in Lord Manderly´s service. He looked at the lad, who was beginning to incorporate from the floor, not letting go of his bag. "What do you say, boy? Are you Essosi?"

"Īlen āzma isse Westeros, yn eman glaestan isse Essos mirre ñuha ābrar" answered the boy. He was used to talk in Valyrian outside of his inner circle, so he did it out of custom. The guard made a confused face, not recognizing the language. Not wanting to commit any more mistakes, he fished the letter out of his robes and handed it to the guard. The look of confusion was replaced by one of shock when he saw the seal that was sealing it.

"Captain, you shouldn´t be losing time with street urchins. Just throw him to the cells and…" one of his men said, a green boy no older than the supposed street urchin in front of them. He shook his head, stopping him.

"Do you see this? This is the seal of House Stark" explained the captain, showing him the letter. "It means this boy is under the protection of the Lord Paramount of the North"

"This have to be a fake…"

"Could be, Lord Manderly will know. But until then, no one else is going to put a hand on him" he helped the boy to get up, who looked at him with distrust. "We will take you to the New Castle, where you will meet Lord Manderly. There you will get food and drink. Do you understand what I´m saying?"

"Yes, I am" answered Jaeherys, letting him help the other up. He followed them to the castle, not letting his eyes stray from the letter until it was handed to Wyman Manderly in person. This one confirmed the authenticity of the letter with one look, backed by his maester, and opened it. His eyes widened for a moment, before setting it aside to look at the boy. He seemed really interested.

"What is your name, boy?"

"Jon" he answered, using the fake name he has always used in Essos. He didn´t know what the cover his uncle planned for him was, but suddenly he woke up a lot of interest in the northern lord.

"And what happened to you? According to your father, you were living in Essos with your mother" what? What in the Seven hells had his uncle wrote in that paper? Anyway, it didn´t matter. To continue with this charade was the only way to assure his survival. And for his deceased family he had to do it. "Well?"

"She died, all my family did" he answered with the truth.

"Very well" the lord continued, making a signal to his maester. He didn´t believe the lad completely, but at least that last part was true. And somehow he knew that eventually he would find out the truth. "Write a letter to Lord Stark to tell him Jon Snow is here and to come to pick him up" the aged man bowed and left to fulfil the order. "Wyllis, tell the servants to prepare a room in the service wing for the boy."

"Yes, father" the fat man answered, bowing, leading the stranger away. Once the room in the service wing was ready, he made the steward show him the place and left him alone after telling him to go to the main hall at dusk for a meal. He then was left in place, completely alone.

Jaeherys… Jon pulled his bag open and took out a little box. He raised the lid, staring at the few things that were dropped on the bottom in disarray. Rhaenys necklace, Aegon´s ring (which he slipped on his robes moments before he bleed out), the little painting his sister gave him moments before she was murdered, his mother´s hairbrush (the only relic he had of her) and the lion banner stained with blood. He grabbed the ring and pressed it to his mouth, kissing it with tears in his eyes. That he found it in his robes was a message, he knew: Stay alive and be the king I couldn´t be.

"Don´t worry" he said to the ring. "I will do it. For you… for all of you… I will become a king. No matter what it costs… no matter what…"

-In Winterfell-

"Lord Stark, a raven arrived for you from White Harbour"

"Thank you, maester, leave it…"

"My Lord, it´s signalled as urgent" this awoke Eddard´s interest, who received it immediately. He opened the letter and sighed in relieve. He was alive. His sister´s son was alive and in the custody of Lord Manderly. He had not failed Lyanna yet. "My Lord? Is there something the matter?"

"No, no. You can leave, maester, thank you" he sent Luwin away, still bathing in his relieve at the happy news. After a few minutes he helped himself a cup of wine to calm his nerves and sent for Vayon Poole. He expressed his need to go to White Harbour immediately and ordered him to prepare everything for the trip. The lord then lift himself to go to his room to change when he remembered his brother was present in the castle. Benjen would probably want to go with him too.

"Benjen?" he called out when he found the younger Stark in the stables, feeding his horse a few sugar cubes. The animal loved them and in the Night´s Watch he could never get them, so the man feed them to him a lot when he was on Winterfell. Or any other horse. "A letter just arrived from New Castle. They got him, Ben, he is alive."

"Alive?" the black brother sighed in relieve. "Oh, thank the old gods and the new, this are incredible news! When is he going to arrive? Is he okay? Did he saw… anything? Please tell me he wasn´t there…"

"I don´t know, it wasn´t something we should discuss in from of lord Manderly, not matter how trustworthy he is, don´t you think?" the other nodded, feeling anxious again. Ned put a hand on his shoulder, trying to be reassuring. Benjen had always been the closest one to Lyanna between the brothers, so much that he already knew of their sister´s impending birth by the time Eddard arrived in Winterfell and thus he was trusted with the secret. "Whatever it is, we will deal with it. We owe it to Lyanna…"

"Yes, yes, we owe it to her" answered the night´s watchman, calming down. "When is he going to arrive?"

"I´m going to pick him up, we leave today… if you want to accompany me?"

"Are you serious? Of course I want to go!" Benjen ran off the castle to prepare his things. Ned smiled and was about to follow him when someone else blocked him. It was his wife. "Catelyn? What´s the matter? I´m about to depart with Benjen to…"

"White Harbour?" completed the redhead with a fake smile plastered on her face. He stared at her with confused look, not knowing how could she knew. He had been very carefully, not letting the reason for his sudden trip slip. She then raised her hand, a piece of paper clutched with strength in her fist. It was Lord Manderly´s letter. "I went to find you in your solar, instead I found this."

"Cat…"

"This isn´t true, right?" she started, her anger starting to make cracks in her smiling armour. "You are an honourable man and a good husband. You love me, Ned. Even during the war… I wouldn´t hold it against you if you bedded a whore during the campaign… but you would never sire a bastard, no? Or acknowledge him" his silence was tense. And the only answer she needed. "I want him away"

"Cat…"

"NO!" she screamed, pushing him away. Then started to hit his chest with her fists. "All this time, I thought you were an honest, honourable man who would never stray from his marriage bed, but you were bedding a whore from White Harbour behind my back…"

"That´s not what happened, Cat! Jon was begotten during the war, nearly at the end of it! And he is not to blame for my infidelity!" he grabbed her, stopping her attack. "Listen, Catelyn, this was my mistake and mine alone" and it was. Not telling her, he meant. "I should have told you about the boy, kept my vows, not tarnish my honour… but it matters not right now. Jon is all alone there and doesn´t have anyone else…"

"He can stay with his whore mother! Or her family!"

"Catelyn, they are all dead, he is completely alone" he tried to explain, giving her the minimum amount of detail to save his cover. "I wouldn´t be doing this if it wasn´t so."

"Then you can foster him out with Lord Manderly! Or another Lord you trust! I don´t… I just don´t want him here, they living reminder that you bedded a whore during war, dangled in front of my face, every day… no, just… NO, Ned. He doesn´t have a place here. A bastard has no place between trueborn…"

"He is going to come, milady, and this conversation is over. I´m not going to leave my son alone in the world just for my southern wife´s tantrums." He stated, leaving a cold Catelyn in the doors of the stables. He didn´t talk to her, not even when he galloped out of Winterfell with Benjen and a little host towards White Harbour. The Lord and his brothers were truly in a hurry, as they didn´t let the riders rest until very late in the night.

"My Lord?" Ser Jory Cassel approached his liege lord. "We want to know why the hurry" asked the knight, trying to make sense of what he heard. "Milord, the guards have been talking behind your back. They say you had a fight with Lady Catelyn before leaving Winterfell and that you are doing all of this because of a bastard…"

"Yes, I have an illegitimate son. And he is waiting for me in White Harbour" answered Ned, his face a frozen expression. For years he had wondered if Lyanna´s boy was really save with those loyalists on the other side of the sea and now… now he wondered if it wouldn´t have been a better idea to deny Lord Connington´s demand to take him to them. If he had done that, at least he wouldn´t be now wondering what kind of boy he will be picking up. And there was also the Targaryan massacre to take into account… "What do you think?"

"About what?" said Benjen, putting his hands over the fire.

"Jon" the younger one frowned. What was his brother trying to say? "I don´t know how to deal with him. The boy just lost everything he loved and he is probably affected. I… I don´t know what to do for him once I have taken him to Winterfell."

"The answer is easy, Ned, don´t make me spell it for you" the night´s watchman said. "You have to give him all the love you can, show him he still has a family despite what Tywin Lannister and your pig of a friend did to him. We all should do that." He got even closer to the fire. "Don´t let your wife interfere in that."

"Catelyn is just reacting like…"

"She might, but that´s not an excuse to let her threat him like trash" Benjen kept his eyes in the fire. "Keep that in mind and someday you might find yourself being thanked by our nephew. Or blessed with one more son, a truly one that will smile at you with the same love your blood ones do."

"Will he be able? After all that happened"

"Don´t underestimate him. He is Lyanna´s son, he is bound to be as strong and stubborn as her. And there is fire in his blood, a fire that allowed his ancestors to continue living and progressing despite the Doom of Valyria. He will thrive."

"I hope" he answered, dropping the conversation for good.

The rest of the way towards White Harbour was spent in silence… or at least between the two brothers, because the guards continued chatting and speculating about the honourable Ned´s bastard boy. How was he? Was he even their liege lord´s son? How much time has he been hidden in White Harbour? Was the mother from that place? What happened that forced him to ask for his noble father´s help? They continued talking until the company arrived on New Castle, when Jory ordered them to shut up while Lord Manderly bowed to his liege.

"My Lord, White Harbour is yours" the overly large man told him, looking all the way the gracious host. "I have some refreshments prepared in case your men and you need some sustenance before..."

"Thank you, Lord Manderly, but my brother and I want to see my son right away and make sure he is okay" answered Ned, keeping his polite tone.

"Of course, milord" Wyman Manderly himself guided them through the castle to the courtyard. Curious, the guards followed their lords, hoping to catch a glimpse of the famous bastard. Once there, some let surprised sounds exit their mouths. There, hitting a dummy with a wooden sword, was a lad that looked like a younger version of Lord Stark. And a prodigy with the sword, to judge by how he moved that thing around. Jory frowned immediately. The carefully learned moves signalled formal training from a master of arms, but who taught the boy? He doubted the Manderly´s did.

"Jon" called Lord Stark, approaching the boy with Benjen moving carefully behind him. the boy had just suffered a severe lose, who knew how he could react to someone approaching him from a blind point. The boy turned around pointing his sword at him and Lord Stark took a good look at his nephew for the first time in ten years. "Jon, it´s okay… you are safe now."

"Am I?" he asked, looking at both men. He could recognize himself in them and, as everyone told him all his live that he had the Stark looks, knew them to be his uncles. Eddard and Benjen Stark. "Is this place really safe for me?"

"Of course it is. And when you get to Winterfell, it´s going to be even safer" the older, clearly Eddard, grabbed his weapon and took it out of his hands. He didn´t fight to keep it. He was tired of everything, having beaten his rage against the dolls in the training yard. "There waits your family."

"My family?" he asked, staring at him. "My family is dead" he answered, his heart and mind finally giving up to the grief he had been containing since he left Essos. Big tears felt from his eyes, hidden by his uncle´s arms that suddenly encircled him. "My family is DEAD. They are all DEAD. DEAD!" he cried on Ned´s arms, feeling awful because of that. "They are dead and never coming back."

"Shhhhhh, it´s okay" the older of the brothers murmured, trying to calm the mourning boy. Benjen, remembering how it was for him when the news of his family´s death arrived before and after the war, just held the child and cursed Robert Baratheon. This little boy didn´t deserve that.

After calming the distraught child, they got inside to rest and take some lunch. They won´t leave White Harbour until the morning, as the roads were safer when there was light. Lord Manderly also wanted to threw a banquet to commemorate his liege´s visit to his castle… a pain in the ass, in Benjen´s opinion. They were not the king to be fatted out like a pig.

Just before the dinner, the night´s watchman decided to go to his nephew´s room before the great dinner, hoping to find him better than in the afternoon. He opened the door, finding lots of lemon husks on the floor, surrounding Jon, who was frozen in his bed with a quill in his hand. He quickly put it away, trying to hide whatever he was doing. His uncle raised an eyebrow, going to sit down near him. the two of them stayed in silence for a moment, making the younger one feel uncomfortable and a little bit guilty. Finally the ten years old broke, raising the letter in his hand.

"I… I don´t want to cause problems, but… but there is someone I need to tell I´m sorry. Griff always said that Prince Doran and Prince Oberyn loved Rhae and Egg very much… and…"

"You wrote a condolence letter to the Dornish Princes?" asked Benjen, suddenly feeling like smiling. Gods, he was so much like Lyanna… "and I guess you want to send it?" he nodded, looking even more like Lya when she was in trouble. Almost making him feel like child Benjen again. "Guess what? Uncle Benjen is going to help" he assured, hugging him. "I will give you some time to go to the ravenry and send the message, okay? Just go straight to the dinning hall when you are done, okay?"

"Okay" the ten years old said, giving him a smile. They exited the room, going separate ways. Jon to the ravenry and Benjen to the main hall. The child practically flew upstairs by how fast he was going and, remembering his lessons with the half maester, looked for the appropriate raven to send messaged to Dorne. Once he had done that, he searched for another one and quickly let it flew. He then sighed, hoping it was enough. That someone was going to believe him.

-Thousands of miles away-

"Brother?" Aurane Waters irrupted in the sept while his brother was praying to the Stranger for the eternal rest of King Aegon and his siblings. Monford was about to throw him out when the other continued. "Brother, a letter from the North" he explained, with a strange expression. "It bears the mark."

"What?" he grabbed the paper and exposed it to the fire of the candles. After reading the real message, the lord felt to his knees, turning to the Mother and thanked him. Aurane peeked from over his shoulder, reading a few passages. It was written on High Valyrian. The brothers exited the sept shortly after that, blowing off a candle. House Velaryon had not lost hope after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think? Like you saw, Jon is mourning his siblings and father figure, but he also has not lost his witt. He is affected, yes, with a little bit of depression and PTSD, yes, but his brain is also working and he knew what he has to do, something that in the future will work out great for him. Well, the next chapter is his meeting with the Starks and, as guessed, his relationship with them is not going to be as in the books and series. And who could blame them, they have never met before. And Catelyn is surely whispering poison in her children´s ears. What do you think it´s going to happen? Review!


	4. Chapter 4

"Thank you for your hospitality, Lord Manderly, and for taking care of my son" said Eddard, as the Manderlys bid them farewell. The man mounted his horse and left, with Jaeherys mounting alongside Benjen. For some reason, his brother seemed to form a camaraderie with their nephew from day to night, as the boy seemed more comfortable with the Night´s Watchman than with his other uncle, the one that would be his guardian since this day. That made Eddard feel uneasy, along with the fact that he looked so much like Lyanna that Lord Stark could feel the clench of guilt over his heart for her death. To make it easy, he decided to initiate conversation. "Did you enjoy your time in White Harbour, Jon"

"Yes… some of it" answered the child after exchanging a look with Benjen. "When I arrived some sailors beat me up for stealing some cheese so I didn´t die of hunger, but aside from that, it was nothing I haven´t experienced before. The rooms in the servant´s wings were bigger than the ones in the ship, though."

"Really?" the man in black raised an eyebrow. He was never told that his nephew has been raised on a ship, but it made sense. Connington probably wanted to keep the royal children moving to protect them from hired knives, so it was logical that he raised them in a ship. Not that it worked, but it surely bought them many years. "Did you have many friends on the ship? Were there any other children than you and your siblings?"

"No" answered Jon sincerely, shaking his head. He considered for a second using his sibling´s fake names to talk to his uncle, but it was too risky surrounded by guards. "The captain´s daughter was a little bit older than Rhee and the only one about my age was Griff. I played with them most of the time."

"Milord, were…"

"Not mine" answered Lord Stark, making Jory go back to his men to gossip. Apparently, they placed bets on everything about the supposed bastard´s family, including if his brother and sister were their liege´s. "Jory, I would appreciate discretion on your part. And your men´s."

"Yes, milord"

Jon lowered his eyes when he heard their voices, the whispers about him. Those men calling him a bastard. As part of his education, Septa Lemore and the half master explained to him and his siblings about the concept of bastardy and the stigma it carried for society in Westeros. The shame it brought to the family… as if being the only survivor of a massacre was not enough, thanks to his uncle´s poor planned plan, he will have to live being scorned by the rest of the country. Would he be able to live with that? He clenched his teeth. His father houses words could be Fire and Blood and his mother´s Winter is Coming, but he was raised with two half Martells, who taught him to live like them, according to their mother´s house words. Unbowed, Unbend, Unbroken. He owed to Aegon and Rhaenys to keep his strength and dignity. To remain whole until he reached the throne.

The rest of the way to Winterfell, the boy listened to the babblings of his relatives about how happy he was going to live there and the warm family that was waiting for him there. The Targaryen sincerely doubted that, having being taught about the social differences between trueborn and bastard, but it didn´t matter. He will find a way to stay strong even if his cousins and that ironborn ward of his uncle decided to make his life hell. And when they passed the doors to the castle…

"Father!"

"Robb!" a redheaded boy nearly his age ran into Lord Stark´s arms, followed by a girl the same colouring and another girl that looked like Eddard and Jon himself. The newcomer stared at her for one moment, wondering if his mother looked like that at a young age. "Sansa! Little Arya!" he turned to him, making the children stare at the stranger too. "This is your brother Jon. I want you to make him feel at home, okay?"

"So… he is the bastard?" asked the eldest, Robb, making both Eddard and Benjen go stiff. They didn´t count on Catelyn schooling the children to act a certain way near their cousin in such a short time. "Mother said that he…"

"Robb, son, please take your brother and sisters to the castle. It has been a long trip and he surely wants to refresh himself" instructed the father, releasing his children on the ground. Sansa then chirped something about him being their half-brother, which was answered by a series of grumblings from the lord about having a conversation with their mother once he had finished with some dealings.

"Don´t put yourself so comfortable, bastard" said Robb when Jon passed by his side, holding his things tight against himself. The boy didn´t flinch, keeping a straight expression on his face. "Winterfell is no place for lowborn scum as yourself. As soon as I am lord, you are going to be out of here."

"Don´t worry, I will probably be out of here sooner than that. Haven´t you heard that bastards grew up faster?" answered the younger boy, making the heir feel confused. Weren´t bastards inferior in all to their trueborn brothers? Creatures of lust and sin consumed by their low instincts? That was what mother said and mother was never wrong. But she also said that bastards were cunning. Yes, that had to be. "And well? Where is my room? The sooner I arrive there; the sooner you can get rid of my presence."

"In the family wing" answered the lordling, with clenched teeth. How he dared to be so disrespectful with him? "You will not get Winterfell, no matter what you do. Winterfell is my heritage and…"

"Who says I want an ancient castle in the middle of the frozen North?" interrupted the other boy, looking at him straight in the eyes. "You know, I probably will be able to find my room alone. Thank you for your hospitality" he bowed slightly in mockery. "My lord"

Jon got out of there before that spoiled brat could recover, moving with speed. He didn´t care that he probably won´t be able to reach the room his uncle prepared for him, he wasn´t in the mood to deal with his impossible cousin. He walked through the corridors without a destiny until he nearly bumped into woman in a blue dress with fur on the borders and silver embroidery, signalling her as the lady of the castle. The prince lifted his eyes, finding a babe in her arms and a disdainful expression in her face, as if he was a pile of grim she had just stepped in. She also looked a lot like Lord Robb.

"My lady" he bowed slightly, remembering the etiquette lessons from Septa Lemore, disappearing from her view as soon as he could.

Once he was out of view, Catelyn just stayed there, with little Bran in his arms. When she first learned about the bastard, she was so angry that she destroyed her room in a rage, worrying both her children and the servants. Once she recovered her cool, she went straight to her children and, along with septa Mordane, gave them a lesson on bastards and their evil ways. At least to Robb and Sansa, because Bran and Arya were so little that it would be lost on them. After that, she went to see the room her husband ordered to prepare for the boy once he arrived. She made sure it was the most uncomfortable, with only basic furniture and not enough covers. That way, he maybe might want to leave and leave them in peace. And then she decided to do a little research on genealogy with master Luwin, hoping that upon arriving she could convince Ned that the child of that whore from White Harbour he was bringing into their lives was not really his.

That last plan flew out of the window as soon as she saw the child in question. When he had bumped into her at the corridor, just like she planned (just to have a good look at the child), the only thing she could think was that, for the Seven, he was his father come again. But that didn´t made her rethink her decisions. In fact, it hardened them. She was going to expel that bastard from Winterfell before he could pose a danger to her children, no matter what. With that in mind, she went to the family wing, ready to confront the boy. She didn´t expect to find Eddard there, though.

"Sorry if the room is inadequate, I ordered it to be prepared for when you arrived, but the servants must have been really busy to disobey my orders."

"It matter no, in the boat I had less than this" answered Jon. The boat? The lady of Winterfell asked in her mind. Oh, yes, the bastard grew up in White Harbour or close. Of course his family owned a boat. "What I really want to know is when do I get to bath. I haven´t had a good one since New Castle."

"At this time of the day the boys are with Ser Rodrik, my master at arms, training in the yard. I thought you might want to wait and join them for their lessons." Perfect, some time to find out what the bastard´s real intentions were.

"Of course, I will be honoured, Lord Stark" said the boy before leaving his room along with his uncle. He didn´t know how good Robb and the ward were, but he himself was very good for his age, as Lord Connington always called him.

As soon as father and son left the corridor, Catelyn entered the room without anyone seeing her. The woman immediately located the bag in which the boy carried his belongings. There must be something about himself here. She undid it, finding clothes and other things of no importance. Only when the bag was completely empty she found a box of weirwood, with wolves carved on the side. She wondered for a second if this was stolen, but it couldn´t be. She knew all the coffers in Winterfell and this one she had never seen. It had to be a gift from Ned to the whore. Anger flowered in her, making her try to open it. No use, it was closed. She searched around for the key, not finding it.

"What are you doing?" asked a childish voice from the door. She turned around and saw the bastard there, crossing his arms. "Milady, rummaging in someone´s belongings is a terrible habit, or at least that´s what the man who raised me said. I didn´t think a trueborn and noble lady as yourself would have that kind of nasty habits."

"What do you know about trueborn and noble people, bastard?" she said, venom dripping from her voice. The boy didn´t flinch or lowered his gaze because of that. He kept his head high, with all the dignity of a noble. Or a king. "Why are you here?"

"I happened to forget something…"

"Don´t lie to me, boy" she said with the same tone, fulminating him with her eyes. "I know you are not here by chance and that you are planning something, probably along with that whore you call a mother and the man you said raised you… if he even exists" they glared at each other. "Tell me truth, bastard, is your whore of a mother even dead? Did she put you up to something or you planned it yourself?"

"You are overstepping, woman" Jaeherys answered, feeling the dragon in his blood waking up with alarming speed. He could take insults, but to speak like that about Lord Connington and his beloved princess mother… At this rate, Fire and Blood will rain over this woman before the day was over. "Get out of here."

"You can´t throw me out of any place in my own castle, you upjumped baseborn scum" the redhead said, losing completely her restrictions. "You should have never disgraced my home with your filthy presence…"

"CATELYN!" Lord Stark entered in the precise moment to prevent a full out fight between his nephew and his wife. He didn´t know the boy much, having spent with him just a few days, but he knew Lyanna very well and if the boy was like her, then Catelyn didn´t know what she was out for. Specially if they take the Targaryen fire blood into account. "Jon, Ser Rodrik is waiting for you. Go to the yard."

"As my lord orders" the child made a mock bow before going outside the room, leaving husband and wife alone. Eddard faced the Tully woman, whose face was still distorted by the anger. The Lord knew that his princely nephew wasn´t going to take the insults without an answer forever, as his pride wouldn´t allow him, so he needed to stop this rivalry now.

"Ned, you and I have to talk" she said, crossing her arms. "I don´t know what happened between you and that boy´s mother and frankly, I don´t want to know. But you didn´t give me her name or the place you two knew each other… this makes me suspicious" she continued. "And your son even more."

"My son doesn´t have anything to…"

"NO! YOU DON´T UNDERSTAND, BASTARDS ARE WICKED CREATURES AND THIS ONE ALREADY ENSNARLED YOU! He wants to take Robb´s inheritance, I know…"

"Now you are exaggerating, Cat" he put his hands on her shoulders, but she shook them off. He sighed and kept talking. "Listen, he is staying. He doesn´t have any other family in the world and I´m not leaving him alone. Not after everything that happened to him" they stared at each other before he left the room. "You better get used to his presence or both of your lives are going to become very unpleasant."

"I´m never going to stop protecting my children´s inheritance. Never" Ned felt like banging his head against a wall. He felt his live has become much more difficult than before and not just because he now had another child to raise. The dragon and the fish were about to clash in Winterfell and he will have to be very attentive to make sure his Cat didn´t end up like grilled fish. "Curse you, Connington. Curse you to Seven Hells for dying before you finished your work."

Meanwhile Catelyn went to the training yard, to watch her son beat some humility on the bastard. The boy didn´t seem worried, carrying two wooden swords instead of one. Theon and Robb were talking on the other end of the training area, mocking the boy´s swords. The ironborn even asked him if he knew how to use them. Ser Rodrik called for order and put Jon and Theon on the arena, ordering the Greyjoy heir to go easy on the younger boy. Something he apparently didn´t need, because the boy had the ironborn on his back in less than ten seconds. Theon, with a red face, said that he cheated, but the trained eye of the knight knew better. This boy had trained with weapons before, from a master at arms or at least a knight. And not just that, he was trained to be ambidextrous. Catelyn caught this too, making her frown. Her son went down next, knocked out of his feet after a slash with the wooden sword. She clenched her skirts, ready to give the bastard a word or two, when someone got her arm. The lady turned around to scream at the person when she saw her husband.

"I´m serious, Catelyn, leave the boy alone" Ned ordered before blood can flow between those two. "What he just did is perfectly legal. And Robb needs to learn that he is not the best in everything, least he ended up a stupid lordling with more pride than brain."

"Are you seriously going to let the bastard beat your heir?" she said in disbelieve, hatred dripping of each word.

"I´m just pointing a fact, nothing more. Ser Rodrik" he raised his voice. "is perfectly trained to decided what is legal or not in a spar and the boy did nothing wrong." He looked at the training yard, where Robb, Theon and Jon were looking up at him. "Please continue" he dragged his wife away. "Leave the boy alone"

"As my lord husband pleases!" she answered in a rage, storming away towards her chambers.

-In Dragonstone-

Monford Velaryon entered to the castle of Crackclaw Point with his eyes looking discretely over his shoulders and his half-brother behind, ready to strike whoever approached him in a hostile way. Such paranoia was not usual in the Lord of Driftmark, but holding the information he was holding, it was more than justified. Or maybe not, as this party was open to all the Lords on Dragonstone and Stannis Baratheon, the Usurper´s younger brother, was not a man fond of socializing. Even so, someone like him was never too precautious. Specially with little birds watching the Valyrian Lord´s every move.

"Lord Velaryon, what a pleasure to have you here" Adrian Celtigar said, walking towards him. Even celebrating his heir´s nameday, the man was wearing rigorous black in honour of their dead king and his sister. In fact, all the Valyrian Lords and their loyal smallfolk had taken to wearing black lately.

"We should celebrate when we could, no, Lord Celtigar?" answered the other, looking around the hall. It was covered by decorations and other implements that spoke volumes of the Lord´s wealth, something you would never find in Driftmark. Well, he would not judge. "I was wondering where I can leave the present. Aurane surely is tired of having to carry it" the bastard walked towards the host of the party, carrying a rich cyvasse game. His hand was pointing at a little Valyrian symbol while he carried it. Adrian´s eyes widened for a second before he put on a blank face. "Where can he put it?"

"In that table in the corner" answered the crab, making the silver haired bastard leave. "Are you insane? Bringing it up after such tragic events, with all our possible heirs to the throne and the suspicions around us… it´s asking for all of us to die."

"There has been interesting news, my lord" answered Monford, faking drinking wine. "And a change of plans"

"What change? What plans? Everything we fought for is destroyed now" the other said, grasping a ring on his finger. "And the two that are left are not the solution. The boy is mad and the girl won´t be accepted. Our hopes are as gone as the king."

"As I said, there has been a change of plans. But I will not explain it twice, it´s too risky. Better to make it in private" he explained, tasting the dornish wine Adrian offered. "Kostagon ao jiōragon se tolie, ñuha lēkia?"

"Kesan se sȳrkta sagon aōha udir really sȳz, syt pōnta kessa daor hae ziry" Celtigar went to receive Bar Emmon, another of his co-conspirators. The man disappeared towards the other side of the moon, engaging the representative of Lord Stannis in the party. Just to be sure, he cautiously interrogated him on what he heard, finding out the foolish man haven´t seen them together. Good. Then he could leave the party calmly.

"You were fine, brother" said Aurane, entering to the carriage behind Monford. While they were there, they exchanged clothes. Disguised with Aurane´s clothes and hood, the Lord of Driftmark got out of the carriage and walked back to the castle, soon finding himself on a secret solar in the catacombs, surrounded by his valyrian brothers.

"As you asked, they are all here" Celtigar said. "What news do you have?"

"News that will bring new life to our hopes to see a true Targaryen on the throne again. King Aegon and Princess Rhaenys tragically died, but like the phoenix bird, Rhaegar´s legacy will rise again in the form of his third child, Prince Jaeherys Targaryen, now king after surviving Tywin Lannister´s coward attempt to end our hopes" he said, raising a letter. "I received this, written by the new king´s own hands, saying that he arrived on Westeros via White Harbour a few days ago and will be residing in Winterfell since now."

"How could this be?" there was a lot of speculation around them, if it was a trap or not, if they could believe it nor not. Be sure or not. Was it worth the risk? How would they find out the truth? "Brother, I think the answer is obvious. We should send trustworthy men North to sought out the king and tell us if it´s truth or not."

"Yes, we should send men North… but who?" the lords started to discuss the merits of this or that men, who served this house or another. Monford found himself caught in that discussion too. Normally he would send Aurane, but he would catch too much attention in the North with his silver hair and eccentric personality. Even with dyed hair, Valyrian men tend to catch too much attention for him to risk sending him.

No, it had to be men with dark hair and more northern, valeish or riverlander factions, disguised as merchants or travellers. The attributes of the north and vale were not abundant in Dragonstone, but they had a few guards with riverland ascendance. Mixed valyrians might catch a little bit of attention, some were not completely loyal and they were very few, but… they could do. And must do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And, do you like it? I know that some of you might have been expecting the Stark children to receive Jon with open arms or at least not hostility, but remember they didn´t know him and that Catelyn had been at work with them. Just to clarify, only one of them is going to have a relationship with him akin to the books and the show. Guess which one? And the part of the Valyrian lords, of course they were going to be paranoid and conspiring to sit Jon on the throne. It was the plan since I introduced them into the fic, to back Jon´s claim and help him in his revenge. Of course, he will have still a lot of work to do and years to plan his vengeance. Review!


	5. Arya

"Idiots" Arya walked through the courtyard, happy to have escaped Septa Mordane´s most recent sewing class. It was still early in the morning, so she couldn´t go to the stables to hide. After pondering a few options, she decided to make her way to the godswood. It should be empty this time of the day, a perfect place to hide herself. Perhaps she would find there a nice cave or cosy tree in where to hide herself until the end of the morning. The little girl paused when she noticed she was not alone in the place. Her bastard half-brother was there, reading a book.

Her first instinct was to run. Her mother had warned her that bastards were lustful and evil creatures that only seek to take everything from their trueborn siblings. That their nature was to sin and make others sin. But somehow, the boy seemed so sad and alone that she couldn´t leave. And maybe, just maybe, if she helped him, then he wouldn´t want to drag her to sin. Or her brothers.

"What are you reading?" she asked, approaching him. Jon jumped a bit when she appeared, closing his book and dragging it closer to his chest. She peered at it with curiosity, like the child she was. "Can I take a look?"

"You wouldn´t understand" he answered finally, keeping his property close to his chest. The Stark girl didn't make a move to leave, so he ended up sighing and handing it over. "Be careful with it, my lady, it´s the only one I have."

"I´m no lady" she said a little offended, taking the book. Just as the boy said, she couldn´t understand what was written in the papers. Well, she understood that it was music, but didn´t know what the words were trying to say. Soon she realised why the meanings escaped her. "It´s in other language!"

"Yes, in High Valyrian" answered the ten namedays old, extending his hand towards her. "Valyrian is my mother language, but here no one used it and Lord Stark doesn´t want me to speak or write in that tongue, so I´m stuck using Westron. But I can still compose in it… I guess. Someone in my past told me I have a pretty voice, so I´m trying to… what?"

"Liar" Arya accused, the book still in her hands. She had no intention to give it back, at least not until she had found out what they meant. They could be some kind of secret plot against Robb or… or plans to dishonour Sansa or her. "You come from White Harbour, it´s what mother said. Your mother Language is Westron."

"Yes, as if your mother hasn´t been wrong once in her life" he lifted himself, ready to do whatever it took to take his book back. Uncle Benjen had bought that for him in Wintertown before returning to the Watch. It was not that he was much of a musician, the gifted musician of the family was Rhaenys, but he had a pretty voice. And his sister taught both Aegon and him to compose because… because with music they could always find each other, no matter where they were. The three of them. "Give it back"

"No" the little girl ran and, with some kind of sloppiness product of not being so used to ran in the snow, the prince followed her. They went out of the godswood and into the courtyard, screaming at each other.

"Give it back!"

"NO!" Arya answered, losing him near the glass gardens. The female managed to give him the slip, managing to return to the courtyard while he searched each of the glass cabins. She smiled, pleased with herself. She then remembered that she couldn't read it, but it was no problem. Maester Luwin was there to solve all of her questions. He could surely translate it for her and take the thing to her mother. With new energy, she ran towards the maester´s tower.

"Arya!" Sansa´s voice made her freeze. The youngest girl turned around to see the redhead approach with Jeyne Poole at her side like some kind of loyal dog. She started to sweat. Her sister, her perfect lady of an older sister, wasn´t nice in the least with her. Specially if she was in company of her giggling friends, who liked to remind her what an ugly and unladylike girl she was.

"What are you doing out here?" asked the little sister. At this hour Sansa and the idiots of her sewing circle must be in Septa Mordane´s sewing lesson, not in the gardens. Had something happened in her absence?

"The septa wasn´t feeling well and dismissed us early" explain the copper haired girl, pushing a strand of her perfectly brushed hair out of her shoulder. "You would know if you didn´t insist in dashing out of the room before the class even starts" the older Stark daughter made an expression of distaste. "And if you must know, we are taking a stroll through the garden to gain inspiration for a song, but it´s a little bit difficult with your Horseface running around here"

"Yes, Horseface, why are you here? Shouldn´t you be hiding your horribly large face in the darkest room of the castle" joined the steward´s daughter, making both Sansa and herself laugh. Jon came back in that moment, catching sight of the scene. He didn´t understand, an older sister bullying her younger sibling? Rhaenys said older siblings must protect the younger ones. ALWAYS. She would have never called him or Egg such belittling names.

"What do you have there, Horseface?" finally Sansa regained control, snatching the book from a retreating Arya. She tried to recover it, but the copper haired Tully look alike held it in high, making it impossible. "What do you think it is, Jeyne?"

"I don´t know, horses? It´s the only thing she knows something about!" they opened it and took a look. "Is this… music?" asked the brown haired older girl. "And what in the world are those words?"

"Are they words? I thought they were chicken scratches, but they can be her awful handwritting" the two laughed and Jon´s blood ran hot. He has a perfect handwriting, septa Lemore had made sure of that. He didn´t have more time to think, as a ripping sound was heard everywhere in the courtyard. "So sad! This must be a lament for her ugliness!"

"And this for her unladylikeness!" the girls laughed, ripping another page. Arya wanted to cry, but she just continued trying to reach it. Jon, on the other side… "AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" the scream could be heard in all the place. Sansa and Jeyne were now sporting mud spots in the front of their dresses, courtesy of the dragon they just awakened. "My dress! It´s ruined! Who did it?!"

"I thought highborn ladies must be polite and obedient" he said, approaching with his hands on his back. "Not harlots that torment their siblings."

"What do you know about ladies, bastard?" said Sansa, looking down on him, making the best impersonation possible of her mother. Jeyne tried to imitate her, but barely managed to look like an upjumped servant. "Get out of our sight before…"

"Before I do this?" with quick hands, gained from using a sword since the day he could walk, he pressed enormous balls of mud, which he had hidden in his fists, on Sansa´s and Jeyne´s heads. The girls screamed like there was no tomorrow and ran away, with the redhead yelling that she was going to tell her mother about this. Jon didn´t pay them attention, lowering his body to grab the book from the floor. He looked around for the papers ripped from it, only to find out that Arya already had them. And handed them over willingly. "Does she pester you so usually?"

"Every time she can" answered the little girl. "and no one has even bothered to stop them. Not even Robb or my mother" she confessed, lowered her gaze. "I think she believes I will become more like a lady if she lets Sansa pester me like that."

"Sounds like a horrible life" he answered, despite knowing his was even worse. "You shouldn´t ask for protection, you have to defend yourself."

"I do! I leave mice and other pests in her bed every night or cover her in mud, but she always comes back" Arya sighed, putting her hands on her pockets. She was feeling so bad now that Jon helped her in an issue no one else had. "I´m sorry I called you a liar"

"What?"

"I just said I´m sorry, alright?" they stared at each other for a moment, Jon dumbfounded and Arya pouting. "I shouldn´t have called you a liar. You know better than my mother where you come from, so I had no right denying your word just because mother says you come from White Harbour" he nodded, accepting the apology, surprised that a trueborn would apologize to a supposed bastard. "Then? Where are you from?"

"Essos" answered him, easily picking up the conversation. "Well, according to the man that raised me, I was born in Dorne, but left when I was very young for Braavos and Pentos after it."

"Woow" she said. "And where did you live?"

"The first place I remember is Tyrosh, but we didn´t really spent much time there. I was forced to die my hair there for a bit, an ugly blue colour. My brother and sister did the same. It didn´t fit them very well…" they spent some time talking about the many places the Targaryens have visited in their time on the Shy Maid. Her curiosity about the world made him fall into an easy chatter, answering all of her questions as soon as she asked. They talked about the time passed under the Titan´s Shield to negotiate with the Iron Bank, of their time in Lys, the city with the infinite pleasure houses Connington tried to shield their eyes from, and finally of Volantis, where they spent a few weeks in, trying to win the Alliance of the Triarch. And, almost without trying, Arya pulled the first real smile out of Jaeherys Targaryen since his family died.

"You are smiling!" she pointed happily.

"O… of course not" he erased the gesture, flushing a little bit. He couldn´t believe his cousin was able to make him smile, a gesture he believed lost to him since Rhaenys and Aegon were taken from him. "I can´t smile"

"Of course you can! I just saw you doing that!"

"NO!"

"YES!" she clapped, energized by her achievement. Then she dropped the subject, seeing her new friend uncomfortable. "Must have been a great life" said the girl when the tales were over, still observing the brooding boy. "Why are you not still with your siblings and other father? Didn´t they want you now that your mother died?"

"They are dead, all of them" he answered, brooding again. No, not brooding. Mourning. "I lost all my family a few months ago. There wasn´t any other place I could go to, so… I ended up here, making your mother´s existence miserable" he lowered his head. "You won´t probably believe it, but I never wanted to come here to turn all of your lives around. I would do anything to have my siblings with me again. Anything."

"I believe you" she answered, getting closer. Suddenly, there was a strange air of intimacy between them, but it was not uncomfortable. It felt like talking to Rhaenys, some innocent form of intimacy shared between siblings. "Why do you keep that book? It´s from your family?"

"This? No, uncle Benjen bought it for me" explained Jon, lifting the thing. "But my sister said that we could always communicate with music, no matter where we are. So every time I want to talk to them, I put it on a song" he patted the book. "And hope my voice can reach them"

"I´m sure they can hear you" she assured, putting her hand over his. "What do you usually say to them? Can you translate?"

"Aren´t you afraid that I lie to you?"

"You aren´t a liar, I already know that. So, what do you say to your siblings on heaven?"

"How about making it more interesting?" asked Jon, getting up and walking towards the library. Once there he pulled a thick Valyrian Westerosi dictionary. "We are going to translate as if I didn´t know the language. What do you say? You want to learn High Valyrian?"

"YES!" this was definitely better than the sewing classes.

"Okay, let´s begin" he said, putting his finger in the first phrase of the book, singing softly. "Skoriot issi ao sir?" the girl repeated after him, trying to copy his pronunciation. He corrected a few things, but otherwise she was doing okay. "Which means…?"

"Where… are you?" she said, searching the most used phrases in her dictionary. The other brunette nodded, making her smile again. He answered, another genuine smile despite the hollowness in his hearth? What did this mean? Could someone heal from having his or her hearth ripped off in the most horrible way possible? Could he heal?

-Later-

"You will not dare to come near my children again!" Catelyn said while she hit her husband´s nephew. He bared with it, staring at her with defiance in his eyes. This intensified the hate in the lady. How dare a bastard to look at her in such a manner? He must be plotting something. "Winterfell will never be yours… Winterfell will never be yours!" she repeated it time and time again while hitting the boy, scaring Arya, who was there besides a newly clean Sansa. "You heard me?! Winterfell will never be yours!"

"Stop!" the younger girl practically threw herself at her mother, pushing her away from the hidden prince. The people in the room stared in shock, especially Lady Stark, who couldn´t believe one of her own children would side with the bastard. "He was only being kind to me! Sansa was calling me a Horseface and ripping the pages out of his book!"

"His book?" asked her older sister, making a disgusted expression. She couldn´t believe that she touched something of the bastard. That made her want to wash her hands again.

"This one" the younger female showed it, with the ripped papers on the front. Catelyn inspected it… she couldn´t understand anything. "It´s written in High Valyrian. Jon brought it from where he comes from and I took it from him. I was about to take it to you when Sansa took it and started ripping it…"

"I didn´t know she was going to show it to you!" screamed Sansa, trying to excuse herself. She was now a little bit scared, knowing she was possibly in troubles now. "Mother, you have to believe me…"

"I do, my sweet" said the lady of the keep, keeping her eyes on the bastard. Maester Luwin told her he had been with Arya in the Library all the morning, so he could already be corrupting her. Yes, everything that happened now must be a product of the bastard´s lies poisoning her sweet daughter´s mind, enough to make the girl attack her. "Why were you two doing in the library then, Arya?"

"He was teaching me to speak and read High Valyrian! That was the only thing we were doing, mother!" explained the little girl. "I used his book and a dictionary to learn a few phrases, repeating after him to learn the pronunciation. We were doing nothing wrong!"

"Arya, I already told you…"

"What´s happening here?" lord Eddard Stark entered in that moment, stopping whatever fight was about to erupt between the members of his family. His nephew turned his face towards him, sporting a red cheek that was not there when he saw him that morning. He stared at it. "Why is your cheek like that, Jon?"

"Ask your wife" was the only answer he got out of the boy. He sighed, turning to Catelyn. Raising Lya´s boy was proving to be more difficult than he initially thought. And it was mostly because the Tully woman refused to accept him in their home.

"My lady…"

"He was corrupting Arya, my lord. Maester Luwin said that he found them in the library reading something together and a bastard should never spend so much time with a trueborn lady" said the woman with a cold expression. He felt the need to roll his eyes. Luwin probably only told Catelyn of Jon and Arya because he was ordered to, as the old man had developed some affection towards the mourning boy in the last months. "And threw dirt at Sansa"

"I don´t see Sansa dirty"

"Because she cleaned herself!" explained Lady Stark, practically screaming. "You should have seen how she was when she came to me, all covered in mud. Jeyne was also attacked by him, she can pay witness…"

"So it was an attack? I think it´s more a harmless trick than an attack, my lady" he said, trying to calm her down. "And you have punished him enough for that."

"He was corrupting…"

"And if Arya wants to spend time with her brother, with any of them, she could" Ned continued, as if his wife has never talked. He knew that his youngest daughter felt out of place between her siblings and alone, because all the other girls preferred to spend time with pretty Sansa than her unladylike sister. To have someone closer to her age that both resembled her and shared some of her interests would be beneficial for her. She would finally have a friend. "Now, the three of you, go outside. I need to talk with your mother."

"Understood" Jon, Arya and an enraged Sansa got out of the room. The redhead went her own way quickly with a final expression of disgust towards the hidden prince, who maintained his dignity. The little girl by his side showed her sister her tongue, sticking by her new friend.

"Do we go back to the library?" asked she with a pout. "Normally I would suggest to go ridding, but father doesn´t like when we do it alone."

"You like ridding?" he asked. Somewhere in his memory he remembered Connington or Lemore telling him that his mother was a great horsewoman, so he had no doubt that at least one of his cousins would follow in her footsteps. "Me too. What else do you like?"

"I… would like to learn swordsplay" she admitted, lowering her head. "I know a lady is not supposed to know how to use weapons…"

"Nonsense!" he exploded, turning to a startled Arya. "My sister was a great warrior and she was the most ladylike girl in the world! You know what she said?" the Stark girl shook her head. "She said that a true lady needs to know how to protect herself, because she couldn´t count on men all time. A true princess… lady not only needs to do useless things like sewing and singing, she also needs to protect her people. Learning how to battle is part of that."

"She did?"

"Of course" he nodded. Then an idea appeared on his mind. "How about I teach you to use the sword?"

"You would?" her eyes blinked. "To use the sword like your sister?"

"Well, she used a spear, but… I think a sword would be better for you." He turned around to go to the armoury, where the practice swords were. "Go to the godswood, I will teach you there. We don´t want your mother to find out, no?" she shook her head and ran in that direction. Jon went to the armoury and picked up the necessary items, including some padding to avoid leaving marks on his cousin´s skin. Once in the godswood, he placed them on her before handing him a sword. "Are you ready?"

"Yes" Jaeherys got into position, one Jon Connington said was very alike to the one Arthur Dayne used. Something he took pride in. After all, he was raised to became the next Dragonknight to his brother, the most loyal of his subjects. Suddenly becoming Aegon the conqueror because of his dead was not going to change that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Jon meets his little sister. Well, this came up as a surprise, but don´t you tell me that the bond Arya and Jon share in both the books and the show is too cute to leave it out. And I believed that they could still bond over sword and Valyrian lessons, as Arya is still young and she doesn´t obey her mother blindly like Sansa do. But no, they are not a slash. Arya will ever be the little sister, one that prevents him falling more into darkness, if you want to put it that way. I also love all of your reviews, I read them many times. Thanks to all of you for your support! Review!


	6. Scream

"Jory, I want to escort my wife to Wintertown next week. She needs to order some things for Lord Manderly´s next visit. She will also bring our daughters to the seamstress, so you have to be extra careful" instructed Lord Stark to his captain of guard. He just nodded, knowing exactly what was expected from him. This was not his first time escorting Lord Stark´s family to the nearby town, nor protecting his liege´s daughters. In fact, he was fairly used to do so. No, what he truly feared was that Lady Arya might throw a tantrum. The youngest Stark female´s fits were legendary, to put it in some way. Specially when Jon Snow was concerned.

Since his arrival, the bastard had climbed fast from being an outsider to the family to Arya´s favourite brother. They went everywhere together, from the Godswood to the Library, escaping Septa Mordane or attending Luwin´s extra lessons… they were so united that some servants said they were Lyanna and Benjen come again. And those smiles only the little girl manage to get out of the usually brooding boy… they were like a ray of sunshine in the darkness. Ones he almost expected to see them when he sees them strolling together through the corridors of Winterfell, animatedly talking in High Valyrian.

Young Robb, on the other hand…

"Snow! Hey, Snow!" the heir to Winterfell´s words caught the captain´s attention as he called for his half-brother, one he never bothered to address in a daily manner. "I´m practising with the sword and might need a partner. Do you want to help me?"

"Why don´t you ask your good friend Theon? I don´t have time for that" said Jon, Arya by his side, hiding her practice weapon behind his back. That was another thing they shared, the secret weapon practises. It was not mentioned to the family, but a few servants knew that the Snow boy started tutoring the little Lady in weaponry, something she clearly enjoyed and people cherished. After all, it was bloody time to have a warrior Lady again in Winterfell.

"Come on, Theon is shit with double swords and you know it" point taken, said Jory to himself. He had seen the Ironborn trying to imitate the bastard´s style of sword fighting and the only thing he had accomplished was to end up in the floor more quickly than before, much to the enjoyment of the Stark heir. Something bad for his ego, according to Ser Rodrik, whose nephew agreed. "Or have you lost your ability for spending so much time with a girl?"

"A girl that shows more promise than you" the boy king said between his teeth before grabbing his swords. He smelled something fishy there, as his cousins had never bothered to address him directly before, let alone invite the dragon to humiliate him in the training yard. Besides, he always had that obnoxious ironborn by his side, the one that was nowhere in sight now. That made his suspicions rise.

Well, not that it mattered. He could manage whatever that pair of spoiled boys threw his way without losing an ounce of his dignity.

Jon got into the training yard, with a worried Arya following him. She knew that her brother could be very nasty, especially if influenced by his Greyjoy best friend. The girl knew Jon could take them both any time, but she still feared they might want to do something to him that would break the confidence they have in each other forever. The female prayed they were not planning anything as she saw Jon and Robb face each other and walk in circles, one in front of the other. The redheaded boy was smiling as if he was already winning. Then Arya knew he was indeed planning something. Something horrible.

"Are you going to attack, bastard?!"

"When you are ready, milord" answered Jon.

"Oh, I´m ready… ready to punish you for being a conniving little bastard!" as if this was que, Theon appeared in the second floor, over where Jon was. Before the other boy could react, the ironborn emptied a barrel of red liquid, probably pig´s blood, right over Jon. Everybody but the two laughing boys held their breath, expecting an explosion of righteous fury that never came. Jory got ready to intervene, in case the bastard wanted to attack.

The first thing Jon felt was anger coursing through his body as the blood stained both his clothes and skin. He threw his weapon away, raising his hands. And when he saw them… he paralyzed completely. They were stained red… red… red like that night. And suddenly he wasn´t there, but in Essos, that same night his life changed forever. The blood wasn´t a pig´s, but his own brother´s. Aegon´s blood staining his hands just like in that night, as he desperately tried to stop the flood of lifeblood pouring out of his brother´s side, threatening to steal him forever away from him. his last words to him, that everything was going to be alright, that he was going to be fine and that he searched for Rhaenys…

He lifted his terrified eyes and turned his eyes. Everywhere he tried to look at, he only saw the horrible scenes of that night: Jon Connington, the man that became a father to Rhaegar´s children, being stricken down by Homeless Harry; Septa Lemore being decapitated near Rhaenys, who was in turn stabbed half a hundredth times by a man in a manticore armour in front of her frozen younger brother, sending him a last soothing look across the field.

Everything is going to be alright, Jaeherys, she seemed to say, you only have to survive. But no, nothing was alright, nothing was alright, nothing was alright. He was scared, he was scared, he was scared. His brother, father, mother, sister, friends were being slaughtered in front of him and he was powerless and scared and…

The scream that followed the prank alerted the two heirs that they have gone too far this time. The sheer terror in that howl was enough to affect even seasoned members of the guard. Lady Arya, in the contrary, rushed towards her favourite brother and embraced him, not caring that her dress would become completely ruined by the pig´s blood falling from the boy´s clothes. She made hushing noises and hugged him with all the strength her little arms had.

"Konīr iksis daorun naejot zūgagon, lēkia" she whispered in High Valyrian, trying to calm the boy down so he stopped screaming. Jory unfroze in that moment too, starting to scream around for maester Luwin and Lord Stark. "Iksan kesīr, lēkia, se kessa jikagon daoriot. Iksā ȳgha."

"Iksan zūgagon, mandia" he whispered, his scream relenting into pitiful sobs, still half trapped in a nightmare. In his mind, the girl embracing him was not Arya, the little sister he recently found, but his strong older sister Rhaenys, who always tried to soothe his tears when younger. "Gaoman daor gīmigon skoros naejot gaomagon mijegon ao, mandia, se lēkia. Nyke ūndan ao morghūljagon, nyke ūndan zirȳ morghūljagon"

"Issa sȳz" continued the girl, until her father and the maester arrived with the guard Jory sent to find them. With one look, Eddard could tell what happened and sent a look of disapproval to his son and ward that made the two boys cringe. There was surely to be a hard punishment for both of them as soon as the bastard was settled down. The Lord went to his nephew´s side, looking into his daughter´s eyes once he reached them.

"It´s okay, Arya. Me and the maester will take him from here" said the father, smiling at her soothingly. The girl shook her head, worried for her brother. He was the only one that understood her and she was not going to lose him. "You can come with us, but let the maester take a look at him, dear. Please?"

Arya moved away from Jon, showing her blood damp clothes. Lord Stark didn´t care, he just took his daughter and nephew to the maester´s room as fast as he could once Luwin took a preliminary look at the boy. He seemed intact, only damp in pig´s blood, something that shouldn´t have affected him in the way it did so. This confused the healer a bit, as no ailment of the body should have this consequences, but then he remembered a case from his mental health classes. It described an affliction that affected mainly soldiers that came back from the battlefield. He got out after helping the boy settle down, after cleaning his hands from blood and ordering him to bathe.

"He is okay now, my lord" assured Luwin to his liege, easing Lord Stark´s worries. For a second he feared his dear nephew was falling into the Targaryen madness that ailed some of his more infamous ancestors. That he was going to lose Lyanna´s legacy to the sodding sickness that also took his father and brother in such a gruesome way… that would be too much. "He should be back to normal once the blood is removed."

"What happened there?" he asked, still wanting to be assured that the dragon blood in his nephew was not going to have mayor consequences in the boy´s life. "I have never seen someone reacting that way…"

"It´s a mental sickness" the look of horror on the man´s face was all the healer needed to know what he feared. "Don´t worry, he is not going to get mad, he just… I think there was a traumatic event in his past that might have caused this kind of behaviour. I have seen this in plenty of soldiers from the Rebellion back in the day, so I recognized the symptoms." They made silence for a moment before continuing. By his side, Arya listened carefully, wanting to know more about her brother´s condition. Luwin´s voice called her back to reality. "Lady Arya, can you tell me what happened after the blood covered young Jon?"

"He… he was fine until he saw his hands covered in that thing" she said, making a disgusted face. She was so angry with Robb and Theon that when she found them… "then he started to scream and speak in High Valyrian" she then crossed her arms. "I don´t believe he even know it was me he was talking with. He thought I was his older sister."

"Older sister?" the maester raised an eyebrow. This was the first notice he had about Jon Snow having more family than the Starks, despite knowing he must have or at least had a mother in White Harbour or somewhere around.

"And he mentioned his brother" Arya finished. Ned frowned deeply. Had Jaeherys been so shaken by the event that he mentioned Rhaenys and Aegon in the courtyard? Did he mention any name? It could be the ruin of House Stark if word got out of his involvement with the Targaryens. "He didn´t say any names…"

"Did he even mentioned them to you, dear?"

"Not by name, I only know he used to have other family, but they died" she answered his question. "What have this to do with the pig´s blood in his hands? I thought we were discussing Jon´s health, not his other family."

"Jon´s other family is dead… because they were murdered" Eddard finally said, sighing. The maester and young girl listened to him carefully. "I´m not going to get into details, but… I know they were bloody killed some time ago."

"Might be the reason for his reaction" Luwin finally said, calmly. "I´ve seen it also in soldiers from the Rebellion. One little action triggers it and…"

Arya couldn´t heard it anymore and ran inside the maester´s room. There, Jon was still beating himself up over losing his mind for a little bit of blood in his hands. His path towards the throne was going to be a bloody one, there was no way he would make this work without spilling someone´s lifeblood with his own hands. And when that happened, then what? Was he going to scream and call for his dead brother and sister? No, he should be strong. Strong enough to… someone collided with him, bringing him out of his thoughts. He turned around to see Arya with her arms around him. Just like in the yard.

"Arya, what…"

"I don´t care what happened. I don´t even need to know it" she started, hugging him with all her might. "But if you need a shoulder to cry on, you can go to me. You try to appear so strong, always trying to keep your emotions at bay and everything, but… I can see you are hurting" she lifted her head. "You are just human and if you need to cry…"

"Arya… little sister…" he tried to say something about not needing something like that, as a king should, but the reality was that she was right. He was hurting a lot. And perhaps some moments of weakness would help keep the strong façade he built up around himself. "I shouldn´t burden you with the knowledge."

"You are the only one of my family that ever cared about what I wanted. Not mother, nor the septa or father or the world… for you, what I want is more important. You encourage me to follow my dreams…"

"I was only raised in a different way…"

"It still means a lot to me" the girl said, refusing to let go of him. "So, if you ever need someone to lean into, I will be there for you. Just as you were there for me when I needed help against Sansa or the Septa"

Gods, this girl made him feel like Rhaenys. Was being an older sibling this hard on her? Surely it was, as both him and Aegon were a troublesome pair growing up. Anyway, having this kind of bond with someone again actually made him feel nice. He raised his hand to grab hers, thanking her silently for her help, feeling that he would actually overcome this impairment. After all, soldiers got it all the time, perhaps even kings. Which meant there was also a way to overcome it, no?

"Thank you, Arya" he said, smiling. "I should also do something nice for you in return. How about next time you go to Wintertown, I go with you and buy you a new training bow for your soon to be started archery lessons?"

"I don´t have archery lessons"

"Well, now you have. So, what do you say?"

"My next trip to Wintertown is going to be alongside mother" she said, still unsure. "Are you sure you want to take the risk?"

"If you can stand Sansa for a whole sewing lesson, I can do the same with your mother for a few hours, don´t you think?"

-Later, in another place-

"Ned, I heard you punished Robb and Theon for playing a prank on the bastard. Why did you do that?" asked Catelyn, angry. The woman couldn´t understand why her husband would take his bastard´s side on the discussion, especially after the tricks this one used on her firstborn in the training yard on daily basis. She refused to believe that a baseborn could be better than a trueborn or have a superior skill, it was against everything the Seven taught in their holy books.

"The boys showered Jon in pig´s blood in the middle of the training yard this morning, my lady. This caused a severe reaction from the boy, one I´m not letting happen again" the Stark answered glaring at his wife for the first time in their marriage. "So they are grooming their horses and cleaning the stables for the next month and I´m not retiring the punishment."

"You cannot have your heir doing the chores of a stable boy! Not in front of the servants and definitely not for a bastard!" she screamed, furious. What was the lord thinking? If he showed such favouritism to the bastard, then he might think he could get away with anything! Even taking Winterfell from it´s rightful heir! "I will not let you do that to my son!"

"I believe this is my castle, my lady, and what is done inside it is my decision" said Eddard, rubbing his temples. When he brought his nephew here, he truly didn´t expect to have these confrontations with his wife. He knew what the southerners thought about bastards, but… this prejudice was just borderline insane. And a true hypocrisy, as the highborn lords of the south had bastards all the time. "Robb and Theon did something really awful to Jon and they are going to be punished for that."

"It was a harmless prank…"

"They bathed the boy in blood, Catelyn! And had you saw the reaction they got out of him, you wouldn´t be saying the same!" the redhead put on a frown. The bastard must be acting to gain her lord´s pity. Yes, he was surely an incredible mummer, all of them tricksters were. "No, Cat, he wasn´t acting. Maester Luwin checked him and was pretty sure he was shocked."

"Bastards are…"

"I don´t care!" finally screamed Lord Stark, losing his calm completely. He had spent a lot of time trying to get his wife to get on with his nephew and, when he found out that was nearly impossible, he tried to get them out of each other´s ways. After all, a confrontation between the proud Targaryen heir and the equally proud Lady of Winterfell wouldn´t be anything but a disaster. "Stay away from that boy, Catelyn, I´m serious."

"You brought the son of a whore, of YOUR whore, to our home and told me to stay away from him? when his constant presence here is a slight against my honour?" she said, completely livid. "He should be the one conscious of his place! Or better, he shouldn´t have been allowed to remain in Winterfell or even set a foot on it at all!"

"You shouldn´t have cared!"

"I wouldn´t have cared if he just remained away, hidden from public view and powerful positions as bastards should be!" she continued screaming. "But you brought him here and are showing him your favour, as if he is the rightful heir and not Robb… he could get the idea that Winterfell is his! And I won´t let him usurp MY SON!"

"Cat, you are making things up out of paranoia. If I´m showing him some favouritism is because he had a rough life and needs some friendly hand, something he hasn´t got from anyone here but me and Arya. Nothing more" he wanted to make things clear, but he knew she wasn´t going to believe him. "I wish it was different, believe me I do. I also wish there was no need for you to know Jon, but things are as they are and you have to accept them. End of the history."

"No, Ned, there is no end of the history. At least not for me. Not until that bastard is humbled and thrown from this place back to the filthy place he really belongs to" she answered, nearly showing him her teeth. She stormed out of his solar, leaving him to rumble. Why did she had to be so complicated? What he ignored was that things were about to get even more complicated because of Catelyn´s actions. Once in her own room, she pulled out paper and ink and started to write a letter. "Let´s see what my father has to say."

-In Dragonstone, a few days before-

"Are you sure you have to go?" Monford asked Aurane, who had dyed his hair brown to disguise his Valyrian appearance, something he didn´t really managed, as the man had inherited the pure valyrian looks more than his trueborn brother. The Bastard of Driftmark nodded anyway, decided to go. "Aurane…"

"It´s my ship they are going to use" the formerly silver haired bastard said, pushing his hair out of his face. "And I´m the only one who knows all the codes and signals to make the king trust us. There is no way they manage without me on the crew."

"It´s a huge risk, you are too recognizable"

"I know, but… there is no other way"

"You can teach someone…"

"They won´t learn in such a short time" the man put a hand on his brother´s shoulder. "Monford, I know what I´m doing, I can assure you that. You perhaps think me an immature brat, but I´m really compromised with this cause. I won´t attract attention towards me or the king and stablish communication without letting the usurper´s dogs know. So as long as you can keep up the pretence of me being anywhere else…"

"It´s still a huge risk, you look anything but valyrian even with your hair like that" commented the Lord, still worried. "And your tendency to take risks always worried me, you know that."

"Don´t be, I´m not taking risks with something as important as this" Aurane answered, ready to board his ship. "I will be back with news and a definite answer for the Valyrian Lords" he hugged the other. "Farewell, brother, search for me when the moon has taken two turns."

"Indeed. Farewell and take a good care of yourself, brother" Monford Velaryon said, staying hidden in the dark as he saw the Pipefish getting lost in the horizon. "Be careful"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are starting to get really sour between Cat and Jon. What will happen when Hoster Tully gets notice of the mysterious bastard living in his daughter´s household? What will he do? What will Edmure and the Blackfish do? Aurane is to visit North, what will happen when he finds Jon? Surely he would want to put a fish or two in their place, maybe a wolf or a squid... well, I don´t think he will do much in this first visit, but in the future, who knows?


	7. Prophecy

"And that´s what happens when you let the sails of a ship wet" said the boy, making Arya giggle. And Catelyn frown deeper. It has been a few weeks since the incident with the blood and she had to postpone her trip with her daughters to Wintertown because of her fights with Ned, who was forcing her to take him there too. All because of that boy. Thank the gods Lord Manderly´s trip had to be postponed because of a snow storm or she wouldn´t have time to prepare everything for his arrival.

"Really?" Arya´s big eyes as she stared at the bastard in wonder made her mother cringe. She just wished ravens were faster, because if her father knew the humiliation she was forced to go through… "Did you spent a lot of time helping on the ship?"

"Sometimes, others not. But I still have to give a hand, everyone did" they continued talking about ships, despite the expressions on Lady Stark´s and Sansa´s faces. The younger redhead couldn´t stomach the boy, not since he poured dirt all over her and Jeyne´s dresses. That was something unforgivable for a lady. "I remember how learned to stitch from my sister helping her to repair the sails…"

"You know how to stitch?!"

"Not very well and nothing outside of sails. Well, the occasional injury, but not to the same level that a maester" they arrived in Wintertown while they were still talking. Lady Stark immediately forced Arya to interrupt her conversation with the bastard, dragging her towards the seamstress shop. The girl shot him an apologetic look before being dragged along with her sister into the place to be poked and proved with a needle. She shot a final look of hate at Jon before disappearing into the shop.

Left to mostly to his own devices by the household guards, the boy started walking through the place, taking in his new home. The child in him wanted to run around exploring and buy some sweets in the street posts, but the king in him urged the boy to behave properly, like a Targaryen heir should do. He sighed, it was hard being a ten nameday old king, even without a kingdom. In times like this, he missed Connington even more and having a regent sounded more and more good.

"I need to stop thinking about that" said Jaeherys, walking towards a bakery. Suddenly, he noticed someone following him. someone with a hood. Fearing an assassin, he pushed himself against a wall and took handle of his dagger. He was about to deliver a blow when the person started whispering.

"Mirre se dārōñe hen uēpa Valyria syt se lentor va se zaldrīzes dēmalion" Aurane said. He was elected as the spokeperson of the crew as he, being the most related to House Targaryen by blood, would be trusted faster by the young king than anyone else. Besides, as the lords said before, he was the only one to know the signs and signals of the loyalists that would.

"Hae se zaldrīzoti hen jēdar se tegon pour va zirȳ pōja infinite wisdom se kustikāne" Jaeherys put down his dagger, still on guard. The man the other side of the wall didn´t dare to move, knowing that he still doesn´t have his trust, but recognized him as a loyalist… at least for now. "I shouldn´t probably ask, but what brings a loyalist to the North, a widely recognized rebel kingdom?"

"You asked for help in your letter, dragon boy" the Bastard of Driftmark answered, not daring to move. Things were a little tense now and with a good reason. "Assuming that you actually are our king."

"Are my signs not enough?" the boy frowned, pulling out of his cloths the ring he always took with him. The ring of the king Aegon entrusted him in his last moments. "Should this be enough to convince the valyrian lords? Or should I talk about Aegon´s preference for sugar cookies and Rhaenys lack of patience for sewing? Septa Lemore´s, or Ashara Dayne, special prayers for her diseased child? Jon Connington´s awful tries to sing father´s songs?"

"I didn´t know that last one, but the other ones were in the correspondence king Aegon sent to us while in exile… your Grace" Aurane was now sure that he reached the right person. When he heard that the Lord of Winterfell now had a bastard son of about ten namedays old, he decided to approach him first, firmly believing him to be Jaeherys Targaryen in disguise. And his instinct hadn´t failed him. "Please, allow me to offer House Velaryon´s, House Celtigar´s, House Sunglasses…" he listed the Valyrian houses loyal to the Targaryen, hopping to earn enough trust from the boy to allow him to speak face to face with him. "I offer our condolences for King Aegon´s and his sister´s deaths. Kostagon se gods emagon zirȳ isse pōja jaqiarzir"

"Kirimvose, Lord Velaryon" the bastard was impressed. Just because of the order of the houses he managed to deduce that he was of Velaryon ancestry? "Are you here to evaluate if I´m real or a pretender?"

"And each second I´m more convinced of your authenticity, your Grace" the bastard answered as the king finally entered the alleyway with him. He didn´t look much like a valyrian, with his northern heritage more showing, but there were some signs of his dragon blood, especially when the sun impacted his eyes in the correct angle, showing the purple in his eyes. The boy put on his ring and Aurane got on his knees, kissing it. "King Jaeherys"

"I assume, also that we don´t have the force to take down the Usurper right now, or not?" the sailor frowned. Down to business, something he didn´t expect in a boy so young. Well, he shouldn´t have made expectations on his age. After all, the boy had raised to lead and just lost his family. That surely shook the childhood out of him. "Well, I didn´t really expect you to be. What are the Usurper´s measures to avoid a rebellion?"

"First, the taxes he imposed upon us…" they spent a whole hour talking about Robert´s unjust methods to oppress the valyrian population on Dragonstone, beginning but not ending with putting his stern brother in charge of the Targaryen ancient home. They discussed methods to avoid Lord Stannis finding out and made preparations for war at the same time, with the older man promising to bring the ideas to the lords. Finally, the time to go back to their inn and castle came. "By your leave…"

"One more thing, milord" the boy stopped him with a serious face. "I want to know what happened to my brother´s and sister´s bodies after they were murdered. When I woke up, their corpses have disappeared…"

"You don´t know?" Aurane was surprised. All the realm knew, but he guesses Lord Stark wanted to avoid his nephew further pain. "After the murder, Lord Tywin Lannister presented them to the Usurper as a gift, wrapped in red Lannister cloaks" Jon had to clench his fists to avoid punching a wall. It was not a behaviour fit for a king, he reminded himself, less in front of a noble lord. "Your Grace…"

"Continue"

"The Usurper made his servants hang the corpses from the Dragon Gate to make everyone witness his glory" breath in, breath out. "Princess Rhaenys, King Aegon, Lord Connington… even a knight in their service that they caught alive and he executed in a rage" Aurane said, remembering his brother begging for the corpses to be taken down and interred in the sept of Baelor. "I believe his sigil was duck…"

"Ser Rolly Duckfield" he recognised him with a pained expression. "He was Kingsguard to Aegon… or that is what he named Duck as. He taught us how to fight… and saved my life" his hands joined together. "That night, Ser Rolly knocked me out before I could reach Rhaenys and threw me somewhere the Lannister troops couldn´t see me."

"Then Ser Rolly should have received the burial of a Kingsguard in all right, as he did his duty to the end and died for House Targaryen" the bastard said, lowering my head. "Your Grace…"

"I know" the boy said, calming down. "I will expect news of the lords shortly. Thank you for your time, Lord Velaryon, and pray for our success. It will be the only way our houses could survive." He stopped himself before exiting the alleyway. "And address me as Jon Snow in your correspondence. That´s the name my uncle gave me."

"Yes, your Grace" both Aurane and Jon left the place, with the bastard of Driftmark keeping a close eye on him. After all, it won´t be well for their king to die so soon after meeting them and, without a Kingsguard, that was easier to do than it has been with King Aegon. Jaeherys, for his part, just walked back to the seamstress at his own pace, trying to banish the dark thoughts that plagues his mind. He was so concentrated on that that he didn´t see when the men surrounded him.

"So this is the famous bastard" he raised his head and saw five grown men with ragged clothing around him, smirking. His hand flew to his dagger, but it was quickly knocked out of his hand by a sixth man he hadn´t seen. The man kicked him on the stomach, making him fall to his knees by the force of the kick. "This is for tarnishing the reputation of the North"

"And this is for tarnishing the one of the Starks!" they started to beat him, throwing increasingly strong kicks to different parts of his body. Pain flooded his body, but he refused to faint. He was a king, he had to stay awake, no matter how those thugs were humiliating him, he had to take it with pride. For the Targaryen family.

"Why is this brat still awake?"

"Perhaps he thinks he is tougher than us" one of them said, grabbing him by his hair and punching in the face. He still braved it, despite his vision getting fuzzy. You are a Targaryen, a voice much like the one of his brother said, and dragons don´t bow to anyone. "He, prideful little shit"

"Stupid… mongrel…" he spat, along with some blood. He also shot a glare to Aurane, signalling him to stay away from this. He had seen Catelyn Stark somewhere watching the spectacle, as the obvious instigator, and handing some money to the chief thug. If she were to know he was in contact with another boy…

"Heard him, guys? Perhaps we should give him a special treatment"

"Yes" another said, bringing a whip. "After all, the Starks of Winterfell are behind us" the whip made a sound that didn´t go well with Jae, but he managed to keep a straight face. But this was too much for Aurane. He knew that there were some sacrifices to make for the return of the Targaryen dynasty on the Throne and their glory, but the king was only a ten nameday old child. He shouldn´t be facing them now, and definitely not for pride. This was just inhuman also, something he couldn´t allow, not even under normal circumstances.

"Leave him alone!" the obviously adolescent and bigger Aurane put himself between the whip and the Targaryen heir. Everything around them seemed to stop, even Lady Stark´s smirk felt. Who was this lowborn? Why was he defending the bastard? "Why to mess with a child? Mess with me if you think yourselves so strong!"

"You little…"

"There is not going to be a fight" Jory Cassel got in in that moment, putting an end to the confrontation and ordering the guards to arrest the thugs. Catelyn quickly walked away, not wanting to be found near the zone. "I don´t know what you believe, but messing with a member of House Stark is utterly forbidden, even if it´s a bastard" then he turned to the young boy. "Are you alright, Jon?"

"It´s just some scratches, thank you" the prideful king got up, refusing to be seen as weak. After all, this was not the first time he had to swallow his pain to keep his pride as a dragon, even with his knees on the floor.

"Who are you, boy?" asked the captain of Winterfell, looking at the brunette who helped Jon. Aurane quickly made up an identity for the North.

"Rane Waters, Ser" answered the bastard of Driftmark, suddenly looking humble. As a bastard should in front of a knight. "My father is a Merchant from King´s Landing who often does business with the North and when I saw the young lord being beaten by those men, I thought to help."

"I see" Jory overlooked him again to go to Jon again. "You are badly bruised, boy, let´s get back to Winterfell to let the maester take a look at you. I will take you."

"Yes" Jaeherys gave a look to Aurane, who looked down. He disobeyed a direct order, he knew, but… but he couldn´t allow something like that to happen in front of his eyes. "World is tough, Lord Velaryon, more to bastards."

"I am a bastard" whispered the teenager back. "Aurane Waters, bastard brother of Lord Velaryon."

"I don´t care. To the world I am one too, so it would be hiprocrite of me to spurn you for your birth." He assured, calmly. "And after everything you have done, for me you are Aurane Velaryon, one of my most loyal bannermen" he muttered back, surprising the other. "Hope to hear news of you again, Lord Aurane."

"Thank you, your Grace" the sailor left more calm, assured that the boy was going to be a great king. One that looked at highborn and lowborn, trueborn and bastards for their own value, not the stigma the society put on him… he only wished he lived enough to take his Throne.

"Come here, boy, you look about to faint"

"I´m going, Jory" the boy said, allowing himself to be lifted on the horse by another guard. After the adrenaline of the fight wore off, he was completely beaten and only want to see the master for some dreamwine and get some sleep. But he was still going to face the trip with dignity. "You are not going to tell this all to my father, no?"

"You bet on it, boy"

-Hours later-

"You must learn when to bow your head when it´s needed, Jaeherys" Eddard Stark raged, not allowing his nephew to go to sleep despite the sip of dreamwine he received from the maester. "You must remember that you are a bastard now and bastards don´t do things like answering to trueborns…"

"So that´s all I am to you? A bastard?" he said, getting up difficultly, raising his head as high as he could. "I am the heir of House Targaryen, the one to reign for thousands of years over Westeros and would do again…"

"House Targaryen is no more!" said Ned loud, glaring at his nephew. This one answered sustaining his gaze, as icily as him. "I know it´s difficult to understand, but Robert Baratheon is king now and your house has been ousted. Finished" he tried to explain. "No one is going to support your quest for the Throne" you will be surprised, Jon thought. "I let you live here out of love for my sister…"

"A sister that would be disappointed of you for supporting a man like Robert Baratheon over her blood" Jaeherys said, doing his best not to collapse on his bed. "You own blood…"

"Listen to me carefully" Ned started. "What you are saying is treasonous. Robert is now king and I´m sworn to him. I´m not letting you put his reign in danger for your or your house´s pride" he sighed before putting his hands on his shoulders. "Look, what Tywin Lannister did to your family was horrible and I understand you want a punishment, but we can´t do anything if the king approves his actions. The gods…"

"Fuck the gods, a dragon doesn´t need them"

"You are no dragon, not anymore"

"Not anymore?" he showed his teeth. "Then tell me, uncle… what should this humble bastard do with his life if he is not a dragon anymore?"

"You can do many things… perhaps going to the Wall with your uncle Benjen" he offered the option, but it was so distasteful for his nephew that he scrunched up his nose in the same way Lyanna did when she was informed of her betrothal to Robert Baratheon. "The Watch is not so bad, it´s a noble call for…"

"A penal colony" he said with distaste. "You would send your rightful king and own blood to a penal colony instead of supporting him to his rightful Throne…"

"Listen to me, boy" Eddard said, putting his foot down. Jaeherys might be his nephew, but he wasn´t going to allow him to plunge the Realm into war just because of his dammed Targaryen pride. "When you reach your majority I´m sending you with Benjen to the Wall to join the Watch. End of the history."

"Might be for you, but not for me"

"This discussion is over" the Lord of Winterfell stormed out, feeling rage and guilt at the same time. Guilt because what the boy said had some truths, but firm in his resolve not to drag the North into a senseless war just because of his sister´s memory. Then he heard some words coming out of the boy´s door and knew war was inevitable.

"Syt se honour hen ñuha lentor, nyke kivigon naejot recover se Dēmalion Āegenko hen se usurper velkrys dēmāt va ziry. Nyke kivigon syt suvion se perzys. Nyke, ānogar hen uēpa Valyria, kessa mirri tubis dēmāt va se zaldrīzes dēmalion!"

-In Casterly Rock-

"Calm down, Cersei, you are making a mess out of nothing" Lord Tywin said, ordering his distressed daughter to silence herself. That the Hand refused to give her the coin to buy her precious Joffrey a new sword for his nameday was to be expected, but to hear that same refusal from Robert… who did he think he was? He was only in that throne because of her family! She deserved respect!

"How could you say that? That oaf, disrespecting me and your grandson…"

"He was not" the Old Lion said firmly, hardening his face. House Lannister was made a mock of during the times of his father and he was not going to allow that ever again. Not by the king and not by anyone. "He wouldn't dare to disrespect the man that keeps him on that throne and with enough money to indulge in all his stupid whims" he turned around. "It´s just a little bit early to give Joffrey a sword."

"He wants one!"

"But he might hurt himself with live steel without any training. You want that?" Cersei desperately shook her golden hair, terrified. "Tell him to wait a year or two and I might gift him one."

"Thank you, father"

"Besides that, I wanted to talk you about…"

"Milord!" the master suddenly interrupted the conversation, making both highborns turn towards him. "Milord, there is a woman from the smallfolk that entered the yard of the Rock and refused to leave until she is taken to the Lord of the Castle."

"The nerve…" the Lion grunted. "Throw her out"

"Milord, the guards are afraid…"

"Of a woman?" he raised an eyebrow. "She will get her request after all, I will deal with this personally" the two Lannisters exited the solar, Cersei trying to make her father think this again. Her words died on her lips when she saw the woman. It was Maggie the Frog. "What are you doing?! Throw this woman out, now!"

"TYWIN LANNISTER!" the maegi said with loud voice. "Years before I gave your daughter a prediction and now I will give one to you" she breathed in, looking at the golden lord with malice. "You killed two dragon before they could spread their wings… but the dragons have three heads and this third will be your undoing! Leave only one alive and the heads will grow like a Hydra´s and come back with the Doom on tows to rain Fire and Blood over his enemies! Hear the lion´s dead Roar! The Orphan of Joy will be your undoing, the stag´s, the kraken´s and whoever opposes him. You turned a warm soul cold and will pay the debt with your legacy…"

"THROW HER OUT!" ordered the Lord, afraid of the words. The maegi laughed at their faces and left with only other word.

"Woe to the ruthless lion, the godless kraken and the fiery stag."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Maybe many think I am too hard with poor Catelyn in my fics, but I woudn´t put it past her to do something like that. She despises Jon and it would be just southern style to hire some thugs to beat someone, no? As for Eddard, I don´t consider him such a good uncle. I mean, yes, he housed Jon, but he practically throw him out of his house when he was going to go to King´s Landing because of his wife, when a loving uncle would have put his foot down. He will put his foot down now to avoid conflict, but he will also send Jon to the Wall for the same thing. Well, he is better friend than uncle, no? Maggie was a spark of inspiration, hope you like her.
> 
> As for the Valyrian:
> 
> mirre se dārōñe hen uēpa Valyria syt se lentor va se zaldrīzes dēmalion: all the grace of old valyria for the family on the dragon throne
> 
> hae se zaldrīzoti hen jēdar se tegon pour va zirȳ pōja infinite wisdom se kustikāne. : as the dragons of sky and earth pour on them their infinite wisdom and strength.
> 
> kostagon se gods emagon zirȳ isse pōja jaqiarzir: May the gods have them in their glory
> 
> kirimvose: Thank you
> 
> syt se honour hen ñuha lentor, nyke kivigon naejot recover se Dēmalion Āegenko hen se usurper velkrys dēmāt va ziry. Nyke kivigon syt suvion se perzys. Nyke, ānogar hen uēpa Valyria, kessa mirri tubis dēmāt va se zaldrīzes dēmalion: For the honour of my house, I swear to recover the iron throne from the Usurper stag sat on it. I swear for ice and fire. I, Blood of Old Valyria, will some day sat on the dragon throne.
> 
> Hope you liked it!!


	8. Return

"Lord Manderly, I bid you welcome to Winterfell" said Lord Stark, welcoming his bannerman. The Fat Merman also bowed, gracefully despite his impressive body weight, and presented his granddaughter Wynafryd to Lord and Lady Stark. Catelyn accepted their greetings with a tense smile. No one could blame her for that anyway. After all, Lord Wyman was the one that sent Eddard the news about his bastard and consequently had him brought to her home. She couldn´t help but think that this round man was the one who sheltered the bastard and his whore mother for years and that angered her. "You did me a great service lately, Lord Manderly, I will never forget that."

"Yes, young Jon Snow, where is he now?" asked the man, trying to find the boy running around the place or in the line of children that were presented to him. Surprisingly, there were only four of them present, including Rickon. Arya, as always, ditched duty to be with her favourite brother, ridding somewhere or learning Valyrian words in secret.

"Somewhere with his sister… I will send Ser Rodrik for them" said Ned, sighing. Lately Jon was rebelling more, wolf blood more evident than ever. And that explosive dragon temper that made House Targaryen famous too. "Hope you have an enjoyable journey."

"It wasn´t bad" the Manderly said, pushing his granddaughter towards Robb. The boy looked at his father, who returned the look as if giving him an order. He offered his arm to the Lady Wynafryd and escorted her to the keep. He then showed the visiting lord and his retinue their accommodations and left them alone to unpack. Catelyn, for her part, stayed behind. This was probably going to be the last chance to know where the bastard came from and she wasn´t going to waste it. Confidently, she entered the Lord´s solar. "My Lady, how can I be of help to you?"

"I wanted to know if you want to have a tea in my solar with me and my ladies, Lord Manderly" the redhead said, sweetly. She wasn´t stupid, she knew that the lord came here to introduce Robb to Wynafryd, hoping for a betrothal. She, for herself, wanted s southron wife for her son, but that didn´t mean she couldn´t use it. "I believe we have some matters to discuss in a more private environment."

"Of course, my lady" the fat lord answered, accompanying her. They settled down in the solar and she called some servants to serve them refreshments. "I indeed came with a… mission, if you could say that…"

"I know, Lord Manderly. And, as Lady Stark, I believe your granddaughter, Lady Wynafryd, could be a good wife for my dear son, but… I don´t believe that families should let untrustworthy people enter to them."

"I beg you pardon?" the other´s face went red with anger in a moment. How could this southern woman think him untrustworthy? "I have served House Stark with utmost loyalty…"

"We are all aware, but… your loyalty is so great that you also became a complicit in my husband´s infidelity by hiding the product of his mistake with a common woman" the redhead said, making the other forget his anger to look confused.

"The bastard?" Wyman finally said. "You think I was harbouring the bastard?"

"Do you deny this?" Catelyn asked, staring at him as if she would detect and punish any lies coming from the Fat Merman. But this one wasn´t afraid. And this threw her out of balance for a moment. "The letter came from you, no?"

"Of course! The letter announcing young Jon´s arrival indeed came from me, but I had barely met the boy when he turned out at New Castle" the man grabbed his tea cup before continuing. "Well, before my men dragged him to the Merman´s court after the boy ate a whole cheese from a cargo ship storage during his trip from Essos."

"Essos?" the Tully woman repeated. Had the boy been telling the truth about being from the other continent? But her Septa always said that bastards were lying creatures… but she never said they were unable to say the truth. Especially when they could benefit from it. "Forgive me, Lord Manderly, for calling you untrustworthy. It was improper of me. Tell me, what else did he said or do when he arrived?"

"He… spoke in a strange language. I believe it was Valyrian" Catelyn already knew that the boy spoke valyrian, he was teaching that bloody language to her daughter and talking it around the keep with her like it was westron, keeping everybody out of his machinations and lies. "He once mentioned to my Wylis that it was his mother language."

"Mother language? Then he is valyrian?" well, that would explain the high cheekbones and those eyes with such a perfect form and eyelashes that would give chills of envy to many ladies… all that beauty that was out of place in a boy, unless he was of valyrian descend. "Was the mother from Lys or something like that?"

"I don´t know, never saw her. And didn´t ask questions" she frowned. What kind of lord wouldn´t leap at the opportunity to gossip? "Lord Stark´s letter told us not to, to just write for him to pick up the child. I did as I was told" he leaned towards her. "But that doesn´t mean there wasn´t gossip. I commented this to Rickard Karstark, Greatjon Umber and Maege Mormont when they visited last time and he threw wild guesses."

"Really?" now the Tully woman was interested. Were all the bannermen complicit in her husband´s infidelity? Did they all knew how many whores he bedded in the Rebellion? "And who did they say was his mother?"

"Well… they didn´t know what to think. We never saw Ned with any whore or camp follower during the war. I can´t talk for myself, as I was stationed in the Moat for most of the fight, but Rickard Karstark was with him nearly all the time and assured us that your husband was a faithful man" he cleared his throat. "Maege said that a pretty enough woman could sway the most faithful of men, but… we all were dumbfounded that he had a bastard."

"Did Lord Rickard said something else?"

"Yeah, he mentioned Ashara Dayne as the possible mother" Ashara Dayne, hum? Yes, that was what she thought first. But she wasn´t Valyrian despite her beautiful purple eyes and was dead long before the bastard came to torment her life. Unless… unless she was not dead, but in exile when everybody thought her gone from this world. She might have run with her bastard to Essos and find someone else to marry, to support both of them. Perhaps even a Lysene or Braavossi merchant of valyrian ancestry. "Look, my Lady, we can´t be sure, as even Rickard was away from Ned at some time in the Riverlands. The only one that can is Howland Reed."

"Howland Reed?" Catelyn was surprised to hear the name of the Crannogman again. Her husband has told her the man saved his life at some point in the Rebellion, but she haven´t heard anything more about the lizard lion than that. Nor seen the man more than a few minutes in Riverrun when Ned came to pick her and Robb up. "How could Lord Reed be involved in this?"

"His signature was in the letter as a witness and it revealed that he helped the boy into this world" her eyes became wide. If he was there when the boy was born, then Howland had to know who the mother was. "I don´t know more"

"Don´t worry about that, Lord Manderly" the redhead smiled at him. "Changing to more suitable themes, I want to invite Lady Wynafryd to a walk with me and my daughters. As I said, she is a suitable young lady and I wish to get to know her better, in case she ends up becoming my good daughter." she said, to give him more hopes of snarl Robb. "Perhaps even Robb might join."

"She will be very honoured to attend, Lady Stark" Wyman said, the smile returning to him when they leave the theme of the bastard off the conversation for good. "Of course, one of her ladies will have to accompany them…"

"Surely, I would never let a lady come to a walk without the proper company" Catelyn answered sweetly, passing then to other things. they parted ways some minutes later, after exhausting the themes they could talk about outside a betrothal. The lady then wrote a short letter to Lord Reed asking for him to come and ordered maester Luwin to send it. She will have her answers once she talked face to face with Howland Reed.

She spent the rest of the day doing her duties and then put on one of her most comfortable dresses, looking regal to meet the Lady Wynafryd and her lady. Sansa and a reluctant Arya accompanied her, the second girl practically having to be dragged to the yard. They started to talk about the weather and flowers when Lady Wynafryd´s braavossi handmaiden started saying something in an alien language. Much to her surprise, Arya managed to answer in a sloppy Valyrian before handing her a piece of cloth.

"She forgot her handkerchief" explained the girl, shaking her head. "She searched for it when she stained her hands and noticed when she didn´t find it. Wanted to return for it, but I told her I will lend her mine."

"Good" Catelyn said, wondering if he should try to make Sansa learn other language too. Lady Wynafryd and the other girl surely sounded impressed by her knowledge of the language. The handmaiden tried to talk to her again in her own language, but the girl showed some difficulties this time.

"And here I thought you were a genius with languages" her eldest daughter said in a petulant tone. "You are always talking in that language with the bastard, even said some incomprehensible things to her when Theon bathed him in blood."

"Valyrian is complicated, stupid. I can at least have some short conversations; can you say something like that?" the older girl blushed. She was a complete horror for languages, so she didn´t even bother to try. "And the blood incident… well, let´s just say that I was learning some phrases that came in handy in such a situation."

"Why…"

"My handmaiden says that you might not know a lot of vocabulary but your pronunciation is great, Lady Arya" said Wynafryd, interrupting Sansa after a short chat with her lady. She was a relative of the Sealord, sent there to reinforce the friendship between House Manderly and Braavos, with whom the Mermen did a lot of trading. And, as such, the girl knew her language very well. "She is surprised to hear a westerosi talking it so well."

"You heard, stupid, I´m good at languages!"

"Arya, don´t insult your sister" Catelyn said, looking at her daughter with an interested face. "Did you learn all of this from the bastard? What kind of exchanges do you have in this language no one else in Winterfell knows? And how did you became so good in such a short time?"

"Normal things, like his life in Essos" answered the girl, doing an effort not to look at her feet. Well, she wasn´t technically lying but… she would never tell her mother that Jon had night terrors (she had gone to him a few times in the night because she couldn´t sleep and found him screaming and muttering incomprehensible things) and that she put extra effort in her valyrian lessons to help him through them. "He told me he visited a lot of places and seen a lot of people… I think I want to travel when I became older."

"Did he travel a lot?" asked Winafryd, interrupting whatever the Tully was going to say. Even Sansa showed some interest, something really strange considering it was her sister who was talking.

"Yes. When he lived with his other family he used to travel a lot" the brunette answered, very pleased with the effect of her words. "The man that raised him was a merchant and used to take him and his siblings everywhere. He said that they were once guests in a Magister´s home in Pentos. Told me it was the most luxurious place I could imagine, with Myrish glass and golden chandeliers everywhere. The food wasn´t much to his taste, but the entertainment was great"

"Did he go to somewhere else?"

"Yes, once he passed under the Titan´s shield with his boat. Apparently, his step father needed to talk about a loan from the Iron Bank and let him and his brother accompany him. he described the place as terrifying…" Catelyn´s face was not frozen. The bastard was putting those tales on her daughter´s mind… she needed to stop it right now. "That´s why I want to travel the world when I grow up."

"Arya, what things you say, it´s unbecoming of a lady" the older redhead said with a harsh voice. "Highborn girls wed noble lords and bring children into the…"

"Maybe I don´t want to be a lady" the girl said, so defiant that Catelyn made a very good impersonation of the Tully trout. "Ladies never do anything interesting, why should I want to become one?" the girl stared at the dumbfounded faces of her mother, her sister and the Manderly girl. "Excuse me, miladies, but I am tired of this walk. I will go back to the castle."

"Arya… Arya, don´t you dare to leave! Arya!" Lady Stark continued to scream, but she ignored her with a smile on her face. After all, her mother was not the kind of lady she wanted to become. She wanted to be like Jon´s sister and use a weapon, tell men exactly what she thought, travel around the world and do something more than the bloody embroidery her mother forced on her.

"Woow, weren´t you with your mother, little wolf?" Ned said when he found his daughter running in the courtyard. Then he noticed something else. He immediately hugged her tightly, trying to calm her down. "Arya, what happened?"

"I don´t want to" she said. "I don´t want to be a lady and marry and pop out babies for the rest of my live. That´s not who I am."

"Arya…"

"I want to be like Jon´s sister, can´t I be that kind of lady instead?" Eddard froze. Never had she seen more like Lyanna than then. And that scared him. Sweet lively Lyanna found a tragic end when she tried to pick up her own destiny, leaving her only child orphaned and bitter. Princess Rhaenys, the girl his daughter admired, also found a tragic end in the hands of cruel men early in live. Yes, the second was murdered because of the blood in her veins, not her choices, but… he was still scared.

"You don´t know what you are saying…"

"You don´t understand me, no one understands me but Jon" she said, untangling herself from her father´s arms and running away, leaving Ned frozen in the snow. After a few minutes, he walked away towards the keep with a determined look on his face. He needed to talk with his nephew right now.

-In Jon´s room-

"… and a few touches…" a knock on the door made the boy bounce a bit, taking his small pocket knife to attack whoever made that sound. When he finally noticed no one was there, he put the weapon where it belonged, hid his letters under the bed and opened the door. "Uncle, what a nice surprise."

"I believe this is my castle"

"Yes, but you never visit me this time of the day" explained the Targaryen, letting him in. "In fact, you never come to me in my little hole of darkness" they exchanged harsh looks. "So, why did you came? Because I really doubt this is a social visit. Are you going to send me to the Watch early? Or is this about Arya again?" he didn´t need an answer to find out. "I see, did Lady Catelyn complained about me?"

"It´s more than that and you know it" The Lord said, glaring at him. "Stop putting stories in my daughter´s mind. I have enough problems with her being like Lyanna, I don´t need her wanting to be like Princess Rhaenys."

"Rhaenys?" Jon sounded sincerely confused by that, making his uncle stop in his rant. "I haven´t mentioned Rhaenys since the first time we talked. And then I just told her my sister was a great lady who knew her way with a weapon, nothing more. Don´t tell me…" he laughed a bit. "And what if she wants to be like my sister? It´s so bad she wants to have her own mind and desires?"

"Jon, it´s doesn´t work like that. Not here in the North. The dornish are different than the rest of the Seven Kingdoms…"

"I believed the same of the North. Haven´t you heard the sagas about the spearwives?" this left Ned completely speechless. How in the seven hells has Jon known of the spearwives? "Your nursemaid tells very interesting stories, she even told me my mother loved them" Old Nan, how could he forget. "And… are you going to forbid me from seeing Arya? Because I would like to avoid that. In this short time, I have come to appreciate her a lot, more than any other cousin."

"I know that if I do that, you will find a way to meet her, so I won´t bother, but… stop talking about Rhaenys and your trips around Essos, please. It´s not going to make her any favours?"

"How are you so sure?"

"It didn´t make your own mother any favours to avoid reality" Eddard exited the room, leaving Jon boiling at the mention of his mother. Lyanna Stark might not have survived his birth, but he was raised hearing storied about how she was a strong woman who refused to bow at her father´s wishes and become wife of a whoring pig with antlers. And for that he was proud. So proud of being her son…

"Hey, are you free… are you okay?" Arya entered his room that moment, finding him still seething. "Is there something the matter? Did my father say something to you that…?"

"He thinks I´m polluting your mind with unladylike ideas, as your mother would say" the prince answered, suddenly coming up with an idea. "How did you get along with lady Wynafryd? I heard she had a Braavossi handmaiden, so she must be quite the interesting lady."

"I don´t know, maybe. I haven´t talked to her enough to say so, but at least she strikes me more interesting than Sansa" commented the girl, frowning. Then a smile full of malice invaded her face. "Why? Do you like her? You wanna kiss her like those foolish knights in the song?"

"Of course not! It´s just…" said Jon, completely red. He was not so naïve to ignore what could happen between a man and a woman (kisses or more things), but he also knew very well that he would marry for the sake of the restoration. Rhaenys and Jon Connington made it clear for him and Aegon that to win alliances for their reconquest, they would need to marry into the Great Houses, so he had long known that his marriage was not going to be one of love. "I need to send some letters to a friend, but your father doesn´t let me. If you were to do it in my stead… perhaps along with some messages to a friend… or convince Lady Wynafryd to reroute my messages to reach my friend…"

"I guess I could do it, but you are going to owe me a big one. Wynafryd might not be as boring as Sansa, but she can be when she talks about embroidery or silks" answered Arya, pouting. Her cousin flashed her one of those rare authentic smiled and ruffled her hair, calling her little sister. Something Robb or Sansa have never done. Something just Jon did, because he liked the authentic Arya, not who she could be. And for that she loved Jon the most.

A few days later, Arya and the Starks said goodbye to the Manderlys, with the youngest girl and Wynafryd sharing the longest goodbye. Arya was happy to finally have a female friend, not caring that she would be miles away most of the times. They could communicate with letters… all thanks to Jon. She couldn´t wait to tell him thank you!

-In Dragonstone-

"Stark compromised our communications, brother" Aurane said, showing Monford the recently arrived letter. The Lord of Driftmark frowned, just how deep this man´s loyalty for the stag was? Deep enough to betray his own blood? "Maybe this is a signal it´s time for me to return north."

"Do it, but be careful" the lord ordered. "Remember what is at stake here and that the Spider´s spies are everywhere."

"I will"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, Aurane is returning North and Jon have to be creative to overcome some obstacles. Arya helps and stands up to her parents. I´m having a timeskip in the next chapters, directly to the beginning of the book and Robert´s visit. Will obtuse Robert know what those hate filled stares mean? Or will he be too concentrated in his whores and booze to find out? Cersei will? Or will her Lannister made her blind to them? Let´s see how this turns out. Review!


	9. Chapter 9

"This is the highest quality bear skin cape, recently bought in Bear Island" Aurane said, as he handed his king the thick clothe, discreetly exchanging letters with him, despite the watchful eyes of Ser Jory in them. A letter detailing the events of the last month… hoped nothing changed from then on, because his uncle can easily thwart his plans to escape his custody if something changed. It could be so easy to force him to take the Night´s Watch´s vows in his situation. "Thank you for your preference."

"Always a pleasure to make business with you, Rane" said Jon, covering himself with the fur before returning to his guard. Or should he say keeper? He knew that Jory was not there for his protection, but to make sure he didn´t try anything funny. One of his uncle´s ideas to keep him from reclaiming his Throne… not that it was working very good. Jory was very easy to dodge. Especially when dealing with Aurane, who was the closest thing to a childhood friend Jon had apart from Arya.

"Jon, we need to get back. Lord Stark wants you to be present for the execution" approached Jory that moment and the dragon boy nodded. He said goodbye to the Velaryon, then walked away. He didn´t know why his uncle wanted so much for him to be present at this execution, he had been in plenty before. When they arrived in Winterfell, he got his answer.

"You are coming?" he asked his cousin Brandon, who was trying to mount a pony. The boy nodded, very proud and nervous. The older boy helped him into his horse, now knowing full well why he was there. To play nursemaid to Bran in case he got scared, as he seemed to have a good hand with children. "Stay close to me, okay?"

"Okay" Lord Stark arrived that moment, looking at his sons. Robb was away, preparing his horse by himself, trying to ignore his brother and cousin. Not for the first time, guilt welled up in his chest. He had let Catelyn poison the relationship between his eldest two children and their supposed bastard brother so much that now they hated each other, Sansa a little bit more than Robb. The three of them made Jon´s life a living hell… making Lyanna´s accusatory glare appear on his mind, saying the same thing: you promised.

"Lord Stark, we are ready to go" Ser Rodrik brought him out of his depressive thoughts, signalling the horses. The man answered with a nod, getting on his destrier. They travelled for a long time in silence, finally reaching the place the execution was going to happen. The execution itself went swiftly, the deserter only muttered ramblings about the White Walkers and wights as his last words before Ice cut his neck, the fate of a traitor… would he be able to do the same with Jaeherys if he rises in rebellion? No, better not giving him the chance. He turned to see his nephew, who was taking care of Bran.

"Do you see that, bastard? That is your future" said Robb in a stuck up way, being seconded by a sniggering Theon, making his father shudder, again the guilt taking place within his father. "What do you think, Theon? Will he turn mad in the Night´s Watch?"

"That or freeze his bollocks… I would prefer the first. What do you think, bastard? Will you lose your mind or your cock first?"

"And you, Greyjoy?" the brunette said before returning to Bran, who was still shocked at the beheading. His tone was harsh, as he never considered madness a joking theme. His grandfather and a great number of his ancestors became mad, so the possibility of ending like them was still there and terrified him. "Come on, let´s go, Bran"

"Yes"

"Damn bastard…" Robb said, seething. How could he talk to a trueborn like that? How could he dare? They got on in their horses, the redhead practically jumping into his. "You think you are so clever, eh, Snow? That you will get away from being sent to the Night´s Watch just because you are the by-blow of a lord."

"I wouldn´t even dare to think that" said the hidden king, pushing his younger cousin away from the brawl and towards his father. Jon was about to interrupt them when the Tully looking boy grabbed his shoulder.

"Do you think I´m not up to your level, bastard?" the heir to Winterfell asked, trying to coax a fight out of his half-brother. This one shrugged it off. He didn´t need to drag attention towards himself now that he was going to set his plans into motion. "How about a race? We can find out who is best with a horse race."

Jon gave him a face of incredulity. When it was about horses, he and Arya were the best out of the Stark brood. Some even dare to say that they were half centaur, like their aunt Lyanna. And, while he appreciated the comparison, it was less dangerous to himself that those kind of things were avoided. He couldn´t bring the wrath of Catelyn Stark over him when he was so close to escaping… but winning a race with a spoiled brat of a Stark heir… well, perhaps it would be worth it.

"Sure, Stark, why not?" the two teens got into their horses and began a race, with Jon quickly taking the lead. The Tully looking boy felt behind, mercilessly kicking his destrier into going faster, even at the risk of falling down. Something that he ended up doing a few kilometres away from the execution site, near a frozen river. Fortunately he did so in a bed of snow, because that fall could have been fatal if in a bed of rocks. Jon stopped to help his cousin up, but then noticed something else. "What is that?"

"What is what?"

"That sound" the brunette moved through the snow, finally finding a stinking dead stag with a disembowelled abdomen. Lord Stark appeared near them in that moment, opening his eyes wide when he put them on the dead deer. It was a bad omen, he was sure of it, a deadly one that announced a tragic and violent disease of one of House Baratheon. Or all of it.

"What did this?" asked Ser Rodrik, who followed him. The sound caught their attention again a few seconds later, making the northerners detour from the stag to it´s killer. A she-wolf as big as a horse, with an antler on her neck, dead, and a litter of pups surrounding him, yipping and trying to coax some milk out of her teats. Direwolves. Six direwolves south of the wall. He couldn´t believe it. He turned to his nephew to ask for some explanations and froze. The boy looked barely controlled for some reason.

"Do you want to hold one?" Jon said, putting one of the pups on Bran´s arms, trying to ignore the dead mother direwolf with the antler on her neck. A stag antler… another mother direwolf that died after giving birth because of the actions of a Stag… he breathed in and out, repeating in his mind the phrases Arya used to stop his night terrors, focusing on his memories of Rhaenys singing a soft lullaby and Aegon´s musical laughter.

Eddard, for his part, tried to ignore the knot of guilt that was again choking him while he inspected the direwolf mother. He removed the antler from her neck, staring at it. Was… was it a signal from the gods to House Stark? Should he start worrying? The man saw the pup in Bran´s arms…

"It would be best to kill them" he decided. Yes, the best way to finish this was to take the direwolves and burry them with their mother. "They aren´t going to survive without their mother"

"Yes, it´s best to kill them" Theon moved to take the wolf, but the bastard put himself between the child and the other teen. Robb, for once, moved to help his cousin. Bran joined them to beg his father for the pups´ life. He didn´t have a chance. "You will feed them yourselves, you will train them yourselves. And if they died, you will bury them yourselves."

With the ironborn grunting and the knights looking crossing, Jon helped Bran on his pony, handing him his puppy, while his brother handed the other ones. The supposed bastard was about to do the same when he heard something. He searched a little bit away from the place the direwolves were found in, kneeling down a bit. He emerged again with a white furball on his hands, red eyes peering at them.

"The runt of the litter" mocked Robb, poking the wolf´s nose. This one answered by trying to bite his finger off. "We should kill it now, he is not going to survive much. Animals like that never do."

"You are not touching him, Stark" the Targaryen said, glaring at him. "He is mine"

-In Winterfell-

Arryn was dead. Jon Arryn, Lord of the Eyrie, Hand of the King, was dead and now the Usurper was coming North with his family, ready to name his treasonous uncle Hand of the King… which means the time to disappear was almost there. Jaeherys has always been pondering when his time in Winterfell will run out, when his uncle would send him to the Night´s Watch… he had almost expected to be forced to do so as soon as he reached fourteen, but apparently guilty tripping his uncle actually worked for something. Until now.

Assuming that Lord Stark would leave, his time in the North will definitely have to come to a closure. Robb and Lady Catelyn would never allow him to stay there. They, as the persons they were, would send him to the Night´s Watch without losing sleep and, while appealing to Ned Stark might save him, the man wouldn´t move a finger to save his wayward nephew. In fact, the honourable fool would probably send him to the Wall himself. And for that, he needed to leave. But it was dangerous, as Lord Stark could find him and stop him any moment. His escape has to be carefully planned. Of course he had a plan with Aurane, but…

"To Seven Hells with all of them" said the young king, letting himself fall in his comfortable bed, his new direwolf by his side, licking his face to comfort him. He let the animal do that, scratching his head, feeling the need to sleep. Since he arrived at the castle, the boy haven´t slept more than a few hours a night. But it was comprehensible. Between the night terrors and worries, even with Arya´s help it was difficult to even close his eyes…

In his dreams, he was in the middle of the courtyard, playing with a woman unknown to him. She had brown hair a little bit darker than his and pretty grey eyes. Her wild mane was held down by a winter rose crown. He immediately knew she was his mother. And even if he hadn´t got it by the crown, he would definitely notice her likeness to Ned Stark. The boy rushed towards her, colliding with her body.

"Jaeherys…"

"Mother"

"Oh, my dear boy. I´m so sorry, my love. I really believed that my brother would never be able to do something like that. Harming his own blood for his whoremonging friend" she sighed. "it´s not something I believed him capable of" she shook her head. He pressed his face deeper in her hair. "My sweet, you must have suffered so much…"

"This… this is the sweetest dream I had in years. I… I always wanted to be with you" the boy said, holding her tightly. "Only the appearance of my siblings would…"

"Hi, brother" Rhaenys appeared, wearing the same orange dress she favoured during their last summer in Pentos. It was so hot and she looked so lovely in it while she was splashing him and Aegon in that little beach near the Shy Maiden. One of the best memories in their lives. "I´m sorry we have to leave you alone."

"No, it wasn´t…"

"It was" Aegon appeared, with the same attire he was donning the night of his murder. Jon Connington gifted them to him when he reached his tenth nameday, all in the red and black of their father´s house. Rich, befit to a king… great clothes to die in. "It might not have been our decision, but we indeed left you alone in the world to pick up the pieces and continue our work for us. That was not fair."

"If the world was fair, you would still be by my side, not just in dream, but in reality" he said, conscious that when he opened his eyes, they wouldn´t be there to share with him. Not his siblings, not his mother…

"Indeed" the dornish beauty passed a hand through his hair like when he was young. "But don´t forget we will always be by your side, no matter what." She grabbed his hand, pulling him away from the courtyard, with Aegon on the other side. Lyanna remained behind smiling. Her son looked at her over his shoulder, trying to remain with her. "Come with us..."

"But…"

"There is something you need to see and not much time" Rhaenys said, pulling him further away from his mother. "Don´t be afraid for her, you will see her again, but now you must come with us"

"Mother"

"Go and be strong, my son" Lyanna said, sending him a reassuring look. "You will need all of your strength and cunning for the battles to come. Our fight has ended, but yours is about to begin… and before it´s too late, we want to help you." Her siluete started to disappear in a whirl of Snow. "I pray for your success."

Jaeherys stood there for a moment, trying to remember her like he saw her, young and happy, before the place along with his siblings. They crossed Winterfell, using a very known path he himself had taken a few times to deliver flowers to his mother´s tomb. Normally, Lord Stark wanted to avoid any mention of his nephew´s likeness with his sister, afraid someone would find out the truth, but not even him dare to tell the boy to stop it. His guilt strangled him enough already and it was an action no one considered particularly strange. After all, his children left flowers for their aunt too.

"Why are we going to the crypts?" he asked, feeling a little bit afraid. The crypts were not his favourite place in the castle. There was always something there that reminded him he didn´t belong with the Starks. The Lords and Kings of Winter looked at him with their stern faces, calling him an intruder despite sharing their blood. But that was what he was, no? A Targaryen in Winterfell could only be an intruder. But at the same time… he heard from the ancient nursemaid that there was a dragon in the depths of the crypt. Or at least something hidden that once belonged to one.

"You know why" Rhaenys said, calming him down. Aegon took his hands, just like that night, making him feel that everything was going to be alright even if it wasn´t. Nothing was ever going to be alright, not with them in his life. Anyway, the three Targaryens went down and down, the torches lighting with every step they took. Down and Down, until they reached a strange camera. It was circular and six men with their swords were buried there, all seeing the centre. And there… "Aren´t they beautiful, brother?"

"Who are they?" he said, moving a bit to see the circular, colourful round stones… no, DRAGON EGGS that were kept secret in the depths of the crypts. "Why are there dragon eggs?"

"Vermax left them here." The Princess explained. "Jacaerys Velaryon paid the bridal price for Sarra Snow and the help of Cregan Stark in the war with them. They were to be kept here until the Pact of Ice and Fire was fulfilled, something that happened when your parents were married… and you were born" she turned to her confused brother. "Don´t you see? They are your eggs now."

"But…"

"Jaeherys" Aegon intervened in that moment, catching his brother´s attention. "The dragons are needed for the wars to come. Your strength alone could never recover the Seven Kingdoms in time for the Long Night and you know it. The dragons have to wake up from stone, as was promised" He clasped both of his hands in a strong grip. "Don´t let our deaths be in vane… wake them up."

"How… how…" before his eyes, Aegon and Rhaenys started to disappear in the same fog Lyanna has before, fog that was absorbed by the eggs, who started to palpitate as if they really were alive and about to hatch. "Brother… sister… don´t leave me… don´t leave me…"

"Only death can pay for life" were the last words that passed his big brother´s lips. "Only death… can pay… for…"

"Don´t leave me… don´t leave me… don´t…" Egg slipper through his fingers and a circle of fire engulfed him and the former Starks of Winterfell, the guardians of the eggs, Cregan Stark and his five sons. Jon felt to his knees, the fires showing him confusing images: A stag with a crown of Fire being consumed by it, an old Lion pulling on iron strings until they were cut down by a sword along with the feline´s neck, a monster of a kraken rising from the sea, defying the gods with it´s sole presence, a horn in his tentacles. The horn was blown and…

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" the pain was horrible. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he woke up screaming, looking around with fear. He was back in his dark room, scared and alone. He stared at his hands and remembered what his siblings told him. "Aurane…"

Jaeherys threw away the covers fast and dressed quickly, running quietly out of his room. It was a blessing that his uncle hasn´t thought of putting guards outside his room or he would be fucked for just trying. Anyway, it was a risky move the one he was going to pull now, but he didn´t have another choice. Aurane will leave in the morn with a new message for the Velaryons and wouldn´t come back until their escape plan came into fruition. He needed to do this now.

The boy ran out of the castle, careful not to find any guards, and went straight for the crypt. Lighting up a torch, he went down the Stark´s resting place, past his mother´s tomb. He kept going for a good time, keeping mind of the names on the plaques to locate the ones closer to Cregan Stark. He finally found the circle of his dream, Cregan and his five sons all solemnly saluting the eggs. The boy stared at them, wondering how he was going to move them… which lead to him doing multiple trips in order to bring all six of them to the stables.

"Hello, buddy" he said to the horse he used to ride when Lord Stark permitted so, so they knew each other very well. He caressed his snout before loading the eggs on his back and get into the animal. Pulling his cloak over his head, he escaped Winterfell through one of the side doors. The guards would surely see him, but they wouldn´t catch him until it was too late. Not if they alert lord Stark first, which was the protocol. Which left him with enough time to go to Wintertown without complications. "Come on… fast!"

-Later-

"Yes, that´s all. We will leave…"

"Rane" Jaeherys suddenly appeared in that moment, surprising Aurane. The legitimized bastard turned to him, ready to help him, but a hand signal stopped him. "We don´t have much time, so listen. I need you to deliver this package" he passed the horse´s bags to the other, who had a hard time hefting them "to your family for safekeeping. I will one day come back for them." He grabbed his friend´s hands. "Please, is important."

"You don´t even need to ask, your grace, I will happily do what you order" the sailor said. His king nodded before climbing back to the horse and ride it away to confuse Lord Stark´s men. He knew they would eventually find him, but…

"Here you are" Ser Rodrik grabbed him when he turned on a corner, nearly forcing him off the horse. The boy struggled, trying to get away from him… only as part of the show, of course. His work was complete and his dear uncle failed again. "Near the whorehouse, as I told Lord Stark. Where else could a boy your age go at night?"

"I didn´t…" he stopped himself, humiliation burning inside him. But it didn´t matter, he preferred to be thought dishonourable than others knowing what he was really doing.

Meanwhile, Aurane opened the bag and his eyes went wide. He closed it again, knowing what it meant. The war was about to take an interesting turn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Aurane flees the North with Winterfell´s very own batch of eggs and Jon prepares for King Robert´s visit. Who wants to see what the orphan dragon does when he meets the daughter of his sibling´s murderer and the man who profaned their bodies? Well, let´s just pray Ned doesn´t make him kneel to the fat stag, because the dragon temper is going to go wild in a second if that happens. Don´t you think the same? Review!


	10. Chapter 10

The Lady Catelyn had a field day after his humiliation at Wintertown, smugly looking at him as if the late night escapade just proved everything she said about him. He let her have this tiny victory, as he had bigger things to roast than an overly prideful fish. Besides, Lord Eddard ordered his wife to stop with the comments about his frustrated visit to the brothel, knowing his nephew was already having enough problems controlling his rage. And, with the king and queen getting closer to Winterfell each day, he could not really blame him.

Anyway, it wasn´t much problem, he was used to worse. He endured the magisters of Pentos and Braavossi bankers when he was younger. The only bad thing was that Lady Stark told her daughters about that and, while he didn´t care what that spoiled wannabe trout Sansa thought of him, Arya´s opinion mattered a lot to him. Fortunately, he managed to explain to her that he was only seeing Rane, who had previously been introduced to her, and she accepted the explanation just fine. She also elbowed him in the gut and told him to bring her with him next time.

Finally, the day of the Royal Family arrival arrived. Jaeherys gritted his teeth as the barber cut his mane, ignoring the teasing from Robb and Theon about him being in love with his hair, and left as soon as the man finished. Why couldn´t he let his hair grow long? All the great Valyrian figures had long hair! And Egg used to say… Egg… his mood damper again. He was going to meet the daughter of Egg´s murderer. And he was going to have to bow to them.

"Never" he said, marching straight to his room and barricading himself inside with Ghost. His uncle came to get him out when the royal party was close, but, after testing his nephew´s stubbornness, decided he could very well remain there the rest of the king´s stay. The boy then quietly got out of his room, directly to a window he knew from where he could spy the courtyard without being seen. Ghost followed him, staring at his master with intelligent red eyes. "Hey, do you want to see the spectacle?"

The wolf said nothing, but sometimes that said more than a hundredth words and that animal was saying "let´s shall" for him. They both focussed on the yard discreetly through the window, where a parade of knights with banners and servants rode in front and behind a monstrous wheelhouse that barely fit through the door. The hidden king raised an eyebrow when he saw the thing, who in the bloody hell had that survived the trip and not fallen on a pit somewhere? He was about to make a derogatory comment, but something else caught his attention.

"Look, Ghost, an animal ridding another animal" he said, pointing at Robert Baratheon. He would lie to say he wasn´t disappointed. This was the man who killed his father and fancied himself his mother´s love? That ugly bag of fat? "He is more pig than stag for me"

The animal just stared at the yard, as if trying to decide which part of the pig he wanted to taste first. He caressed the direwolf´s fur, calming him down. It was not time yet. But it will come. It will come and he will feed his wolf with the flesh of the Usurper and his treacherous kin.

"The Queen and royal children" he said when Cersei Lannister and her children exited the wheelhouse. Along with her brothers, who followed her to the North. For a second, he wondered how Tywin Lannister´s face would look if he killed his whole, rotten brood right in front of him. it would be a good revenge, a family for a family. Fair, no?

The King got done from his exhausted horse and embraced his uncle as a brother. Jaeherys narrowed his eyes. Would that BEAUTIFUL friendship survive if the pig knew what his beloved brother by choice had done? That he housed the child of his so called love with Rhaegar Targaryen for so many years? He didn´t think so. He was still fixated as fixated in his delusions as ever, he can see, as the man disappeared along with Ned Stark in the crypt´s direction.

"We have seen enough, boy, let´s return to the room" he ordered, retiring with his wolf. It was already night when he emerged again. He wasn´t particularly hungry, as Lord Stark sent food with some servants to his chambers, but he was curious. He entered the Great Hall and, from the darkness, he sent a disdainful look to the Stag King, who was spilling wine all over himself and rubbing whatever girl approached him´s ass, publically disgracing his queen. Cersei Lannister, for her part, looked like a scowling statue. "Pathetic"

"You shouldn´t be here even" a voice said from his side. He turned around to see his uncle Benjen. He smiled, embracing him. Benjen had always been a true friend of him, the only one of his close uncles he was proud to call family. The man understood him the most, specially when the Throne and family were concerned. He even put him in touch with maester Aemon at the Wall, going behind his brother´s back for the first time in his life. "Everything is ready on our side."

"Thank you, uncle" he nodded with true gratitude, taking a sip of his wine and discreetly making sure no one was hearing them. "Now I only need to wait until our especial guest arrives."

"Jon… are you sure you want to do this? I know what my brother wants to force you to do is no fair, but… a war is not the best… you can die, do you understand that?"

"Uncle, I have been thinking this out since I was ten, of course I know. But I have to do it. For Egg, for Rhae…"

"They are dead, Jon, a war or a Throne is not going to bring them back"

"I know it" he was tense. He knew, he knew dammit. He knew that what Tywin Lannister and that lame excuse of a King took from him could not be recovered, only avenged, but… but he could only look forward. And the only place forward took him was the recovery of his heritage. "I need to do this, uncle, for everyone. And even if you aren´t with me…"

"I am with you, boy, never doubt that" Benjen continued, looking for a second at the main table, from where his brother and goodsister were watching them, one with worry and another with scorn. "You will be an amazing king" he assured. "But this conversation needs to end. We are being watched."

"I know" he said, still tense. "And forgive me if I blow some steam at you uncle" he immediately changed his tone. "I ALREADY TOLD YOU I´M NOT GOING TO THE WATCH! WHO CARES IF I´M A BASTARD, I´M NOT A MISTAKE THAT COULD BE HIDDEN UNDER THE RUG! I´M A LIVING PERSON AND HAVE DONE NOTHING WRONG!" satisfied by how he got the attention of everybody in the room, he pushed his chair and stood up, faking shame. "If you excuse me"

"Nephew…" that at least must throw Ned and Catelyn out of the scent, which left Benjen safe from any suspicions. Jaeherys, for his part, left the Main Hall to go to the training yard. A few hours with the sword would cool his spirits down, he decided. Something he needed to do, unless he would find himself a Kingslayer before the day was ended. Ghost sat down near to watch him, interested.

"It´s an interesting animal the one you have there. Can I see him?" the hidden king turned to see one of the least persons he wanted to see in his life: a Lannister. The Imp of Casterly Rock, to be specific.

"You are Tyrion Lannister, the queen´s brother" he said, trying to hide his loathe deep inside of him.

"My greatest achievement" the dwarf joked. "And you… are Ned Stark´s bastard?"

"Lord Eddard Stark is my father" he answered, not without an ounce of sarcasm. He could call the man father, but his uncle wasn´t even a shadow of what Jon Connington meant to him. Never.

"And Lady Stark is not your mother, which makes you the bastard" the blond continued, having a staring battle with the boy. "Let me give you some advice, bastard, never forget what you are, because the rest of the world will not. Wear it like an armour, so no one could use it to hurt you." Jaeherys stared at him with confronted feelings. "I can detect a bit of loathing in your tone, what´s that about? Did I offend you?"

"Is it obvious?"

"A bit, to a trained man. Nearly perfectly hidden" Tyrion continued. "Then? I answered your question, now answer mine."

"Do your father know what Clegane and Lorch were doing in Essos while hunting the Targaryen?" he asked, making Tyrion got still. He didn´t expect something like that. "At least you don´t, I can see. Let me enlighten you" he crossed his arms. "It took them some months, so they… entertain themselves terrorising the people from Essos, murdering and pillandering when the mood struck them."

"How…"

"I´m from Essos" he said, lying, but concealing it with some truth. "My mother was the wife of a merchant. I had an older sister and brother and a step father who took care of me despite how I was conceived" he continued, concealing lied with truth. "That was until those two attacked our house in the middle of the night, murdering my whole family in front of my eyes" he looked at the stunned dwarf. "I was condemned to the life of a bastard by the actions of your family. Do you understand my loathing now, Lannister?"

"How do you know it was…"

"Oh, their armours, size, the idiots wore their family emblems and left some really pretty scarlet with golden lions broken banners behind… I believe I have seen it somewhere else" Tyrion tried to hide the lion in his cloth. Now, facing a victim of his father´s cruelty, he didn´t feel so comfortable wearing it. "Good night, my lord"

"Wait!" Tyrion called to him, suddenly wanting to know more about that bastard. "You screamed something about not wanting to join the Night´s Watch. Is that what Lord Stark wants you to do?"

"Well, of course. He wants to hide the sole stain in his honour under the biggest rug in Westeros" he answered, looking down at the dwarf. "But I´m not going to bow to his wishes so easily. My father´s heritage is still waiting for me… the man who raised me, I mean" he looked away from the dwarf. "At the first chance I got, I will escape and return to Pentos to rebuilt what he left for me. Don´t care how much it costs me…"

"I like you, boy, you have a clear vision. Better than I thought, considering the order I was told you were going to join" the man took something from his pocket and throw it to him. Jaeherys caught it and looked. It was a pouch. "There you go, enough gold to restart your life in Pentos."

"I don´t receive charity from murderers"

"Then receive it from the son of the murderer. A peace offering, if you want to call it that way. or an investment in your new life" the dwarf continued. "And if you ever have need of me, call me. I would hate to see those dreams squashed."

"Oh, they won´t be" the boy said, receiving it. He sincerely doubted he would ever need the Lannister Imp´s help and there was no way gold could pay for what Tywin Lannister did to him, but a little bit more of gold to the cause was never to be underestimated. "I have a friend who is going to pick me up from Eastwatch…"

"We are going to Castle Black, not Eastwatch"

"We?" now, that was something he didn´t plan. Was the little lion really implying that… "Are you going to the Wall with us? For what?"

"But of course! I have always wanted to piss from the edge of the world. I just hope I don´t lose it from frostbite" Jaeherys stayed there, listening to the dwarf´s cheerful talk of everything he knew about the Wall while he internally groaned. He planned to stay secluded in uncle Benjen´s or uncle Aemon´s quarters once he reached the Wall, but now he was going to actually spent time pretending he was a new recruit of the Night´s Watch, a voluntary one, getting ready to leave, to threw the scent off him. Great.

-At the Wall-

"Tell me that the Lannister finally left" asked the young king, his muscles aching a bit from the training while he reclined himself in a comfortable seat at the maester´s quarters while his great uncle was carefully positioned by the fire. The man quickly dismissed his steward before answering to his great nephew. "Uncle…"

"For someone that prides himself for being careful, you have been anything but that in your stay here, Jaeherys" the old man said, shooting his nephew a look. "I would advice you to change your attitude, even if Lord Lannister is leaving tomorrow."

"I told him a sob history in Winterfell that might mask my attitude or make it expected by him, it would be an inconvenience if I act some other way" he watched his fingers. "Then, is he really leaving us so soon? Because I´m eager to leave this place."

"Sorry that your stay in our humble order´s castle is not to the true King´s standards, but I thought you have indeed slept in worse places during your exile."

"I have, but I´m also eager to begin with our plan" he suddenly changed his attitude into something more serious. "I´m not launching myself senselessly into danger, I promise you that. Everything have been carefully planned for years…"

"But even the best plans can go bad, no?" both Targaryen´s stared into each other´s eyes, one blind and another deep indigo thanks to the light. "Yes, the Lannister is going away tomorrow at first light, along with Yoren. And, a few hours later, you will depart to Eastwatch with the escort Benjen prepared for you" the older man sighed. "Just be careful, Jaeherys. You are our family´s hope, you and the others in Essos. Without you, I´m afraid…"

"I will be" he promised. "I won´t fail you or Egg, who also put his trust in me. I will recover the Throne that was taken from us, I swear."

"I believe you" the Old Dragon moved a hand to signal his desk. "There, in the lowest drawer, I have something for you. A get away gift… or a token for good luck from your uncle, take it however you prefer" he opened the drawers until he found a sword. It was decorated with rubies and dragons. He unsheathed it, marvelled when he discovered Valyrian steel. "It served a conqueror once, it´s only just that it will serve another."

"This is Dark Sister" he said, turning around to look at the old man. "Uncle…"

"Remember me every time you use it and the advice I gave you. Also remember the sacrifices you have made and will have to make to get the Throne you are after" his nephew approached, sitting down in front of him and taking his hands, the sword left in the ground. Aemon grabbed his cup of wine with difficulty, taking a sip before throwing it into Jae´s hands. "Also remember you are not invincible"

"Uncle…" he said, breathing hard and deep to keep the panic at bay. He had got a long way from the little boy of ten namedays that screamed at the sight of blood in his hands, but the nightmares and memories rarely left him alone. He controlled them now, but never forget. Nor forgive. "Uncle, I promise…"

"Maester…" Ser Alliser Thorne interrupted their conversation that moment, barging in. He carefully closed the door after he entered, a little knife in his hand. The man then dropped it and got to his knees, his face to the floor. "My Prince, Your Grace" both Targaryen were very attentive now. "I beg forgiveness, your Grace, I came here with misguided intentions, ones I thought true and just, but I… I…" Thorne was crying now. "Had I know it was you, My King, I would have already sent a party to take you to Eastwatch, but instead I delayed to make plans to murder the Usurper´s dog´s bastard and delayed Benjen Stark…"

"I´m not upset, Ser Alliser" assured Jaeherys. "Your efforts managed to sell the lie to the enemy. Tyrion Lannister will now return to the capital with no more information than the sob history of an ambitious bastard who got his dreams crushed at the Wall due to lack of funds. They will never suspect me when I strike. Besides, the Velaryon ship I´m waiting for it´s not arriving but in a few days and I wanted to spent some time with my uncles."

"Your Grace, your uncle Benjen is a true loyal man and brother. I´m sure your Lady Mother, the Princess Lyanna, is smiling down at him from wherever she and our beloved Silver Prince are."

"Are you sure?" joked a bit the boy.

"More than to your other uncle, sure" Aemon answered. "We had manoeuvre around Eddard enough times to get you away from the Night´s Watch. Do you remember the guards he wanted to send with you here?"

"Of course I do" Jaeherys rolled his eyes, then he took a more regal poise. "Ser Alliser, I don´t have the power to release you from your vows yet, but in the future I want to pardon all the loyalists who were unjustly sent here by the Usurper. I just ask you to shield the Realm well during your time here. Listen to your brothers and don´t take anything for sure, as appearances can be deceitful." He put a hand on the knight´s shoulder. "And be careful, because there is something happening behind that Wall, that I could sense."

"My King"

"I will come back as soon as I can to give the Watch help" he promised. "As for now, you will tomorrow be part of the escort to take me from Castle Black to Eastwatch. I task you with taking me safely to the Velaryon ship who is going to take me away from the Wall and…" he handed the other a small seal. "Disinformation."

"Your Grace, it will be my pleasure" Alliser said, smiling. Jaeherys returned the gesture, knowing that there was going to be someone watching his uncles´ backs when he left. He spent the rest of the day with Aemon and Benjen, chatting and enjoying life before he found his hands full with war. Life sounded so easy like that…like the childhood that was ripped from him along with his siblings. The next day he said goodbye to Tyrion Lannister, looking broody to sell his lie. The dwarf just patted his back and left, convinced that this was the bastard´s end. A few hours later…

"Thank you for everything, uncle Aemon" Jaeherys said his final goodbyes to the ancient maester, Dark Sister on his hip and a dark cloak with carefully concealed three headed dragons on his back. "Hope we can see each other again."

"Me too, boy, me too. Pray to the gods they give me live to see you rise to your throne and return triumphal to this Wall" they hugged. He shared similar goodbyes with Benjen in the privacy of Aemon´s quarters too before reuniting with Ser Alliser in the courtyard. The knight nodded discreetly at him and shouted to his escort.

"Come on, boys! We don´t have all day, mount now!" and with that, they set off to Eastwatch by the Sea.

-A few Days later-

"That travel was eternal" moaned Jaeherys as he made himself comfortable in the hidden room of the Pipefish. Aurane was near him, smiling daringly. He was one of the few people who could get away with doing that in the presence of the king, in his quality of childhood friend or at least something similar, and take advantage of that the most he could. "Wipe that off your face, you weren´t the one freezing off in that damn castle."

"It certainly puts things in perspective, no, your Grace?" the boy didn´t answer, knowing full well that the other was correct. If they failed, that was where they were going to end up… if they were lucky.

"Can be" he finally accepted, sighing. "By the way, Ser Velaryon, did you deliver my package to Driftmark?" Aurane nodded again, very proud of himself. He managed to smuggle six forbidden objects to a place heavily controlled by Stannis Baratheon all by himself. He put Ser Davos Seaworth to shame with that. "Great" the king approved, putting his hands on his lap. "What are the news of the capital?"

"You are not going to like it" Aurane warned, but still started to talk about everything that happened in the Realm was the king was trapped in the North.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And... did you like the rescue? And Ser Alliser´s escene? The man was a loyalist to the bone, he deserved to serve the true king despite being such a douche to him in the show and books. He did that because he thought Jon was Ned´s bastard! Anyway, there was no way I wasn´t going to give Jon Valyrian steel, he needed that to fill the character. Well, in next chapter we are getting some interesting news, like the Tourney and how the Small Council is managing the Kingdom. What is Jon going to do with the deficit? And the debt? And Littlefinger the puppetmaster? Varys the spymaster? All with the arrival of the King to Dragonstone! Review!


	11. Chapter 11

"Are you ready to meet your loyal banner… what are you doing?" asked Aurane, looking dumbfound at the mess of papers in front of him. He picked up one of them to find numbers written in it. They were about to dock and Jon devoted himself to practice his sums? "It´s fine that you are so dedicated to study, but isn´t this a little bit excessive?"

"Shut up" Jaeherys ordered, writing furiously in another sheet. "I´m calculating the debt, to find the best way to repay it without bankrupting Westeros. Here" he put another paper in Aurane´s hand. "It´s the best case scenario. And this" another one. "It´s the worse" he gritted his teeth. "It says it´s going to take between ten and twenty years to pay all the debt. And that if we don´t have a fucking bad crop year, or winter… and get rid of our debt to the Lannisters, of course."

"Well… ehhh…" the boy didn´t know what to say. Economics were not his forte, but those projections weren´t encouraging in the least.

"I know! And the worst is that they have taken great loans from the Iron Bank!" the king was about to break his teeth because he was grinding them so much that… wait, focus. He needed to win this war before beginning to bother with the economy. He would also need to cut some expenses he thought he could afford in his plans. "At least they weren't so big that the interests are going to eat us alive when this ends" he sighed, calming down. "Who in the Seven hells thought that putting this idiot on the Throne was a good idea?"

"You don´t usually talk like this, what´s the matter?" asked the former bastard, crossing his arms. He had gotten used to the king´s normally calm speech pattern, so this was new. And a little bit scary. They needed the calm and collected Jaeherys, the one that always acted according to plan, not a panicked one.

"It´s just that… Aegon made it sound so easy. He always knew how to deal with everything and me… I am not him" he sighed. "It should be him the one reuniting with the Valyrian Lords, not me. It should be him on his way to the Throne, Rhaenys by his side, not me."

"You miss your brother a lot. And your sister. It´s fine and I understand" Aurane put a hand on his shoulder, helping him calm down. "But you have to set your feelings aside, to plan your next movement as you always do. Because you want to win this, no?" Jaeherys lifted his eyes towards him. "King Aegon had faith in you. In his last moment, he decided to entrust the future of your House to you. And I believe he knew it was the best decision he could make. Don´t you think the same?"

"I don´t know, but… they are my fuel. I won´t let them down" the boy regained his regal poise, overcoming the nerves he was feeling for meeting his first bannermen. "I will address the matter of the inevitable economic collapse later. First, I need you to give me some information about your brother´s and the other lord´s possible demands. Then, I have a special mission for you."

"Special…"

"You know a lot of people in King´s Landing, don´t you?" the Velaryon looked at the ceiling for a second. Yes, he mentioned once or twice during his trips to the North that he had some contacts in the capital that allowed them to catch some rumours of the Usurper´s court, but… "I need you to gather as much information as you can to plan our next step."

"Then… you don´t have a plan?"

"I have plans and contingency plans, but to decide which one to apply depends on the political climate, instability and the strength of the militaries. And don´t deluded yourself, Rane, we are in a position of inferiority, not the best of places to start a war. We also don´t have economical support… bad" he bit his lips. "Is there someone inside Lord Stannis court?"

"Many of our allies are shunned from his presence, but… I believe Lord Bar Emmon have periodical meetings with him over business. And one of his knights is also fucking a maid from the castle."

"Good, turn him into a spy for us. It should be easy, as people are very willing to speak after being satisfied" the king continued, pushing aside his hair. "Ah, and another thing. When you arrive to King´s Landing, search for information about Arya too. I would hate if she gets stuck in that wretched place once the hostilities begin."

"You are an amazing older brother, your Grace" joked Aurane. In fact, he had also given it a thought. He liked the little Lady Stark a lot. She was hardly proper and very loud, but she was one of the strongest people he had the pleasure to know. A true Visenya, that little girl… "By the way, after gathering information, what are we going to do?"

"Hummm, that´s a good question. Do you have a cyvasse board? I think we have enough time to play once before docking" he said. The captain nodded and pulled out a simple cyvasse board with wooden figurines to play. The brunette caressed the board once, remembering when Egg carved a set for him, for his fifth nameday. The game is the same everywhere, Jaeherys, the silverette boy king said, rubbing his younger brother´s hair, whereas in the reality or in an imaginary battle like this one, the strategies are the same. If you apply them correctly, he captured his king with less figurines than his brother, even if you are in disadvantage, you can win. "Aegon and Connington taught me to strategize with this game, you know?"

"Really?" Aurane stared at it, not understanding. "I always believed it just a boring board game."

"Believe it or not, the strategies applied to cyvasse work for real armies. Right now we are at the beginning… me and Robert Baratheon" he pointed at the two opposite kings. "I have" he put some pieces around his king, very few. "Just the Valyrian Lords. Maybe I could snatch some Riverlanders, but it´s not enough to even begin the Reconquest. Meanwhile, the Usurper" he put several pieces around the enemy king. "He has nearly all the Seven Kingdoms."

"I see… so we are fucked"

"If we don´t act carefully" Jaeherys grabbed a tower and an archman. "First, we need to snatch the Darrys, Blackwoods and other Riverlander loyalists, as much as we can. Then, Dorne… I have to admit it´s a wild card and wouldn´t count on them, but at least have to try. Or convince them to declare neutrality, that would be a great help. Anyway, that's not what I´m banking on" he grabbed a dragon. "You know what I mean?"

"Dragons?" wondered the former bastard, not knowing in that moment if his king was great or insane. "I thought that the eggs were for your negotiations with the Iron Bank."

"Oh, if I have to, I will. But for now, I have plans for the creatures inside of them" he caressed the figurine. "It will need some time, but, in the end, my patience will bear fruits and I will recover my Throne." He sighed. "I also think that information on strategies of other people is vital, so…"

"You are sending me to King´s Landing to define your plans. Clever" the captain grabbed his figurines, putting them in order again. "Maybe I should start playing your game."

"If you want" the king grabbed the dragon again. Of course, he wasn´t telling Aurane all of his plans, but he knew enough. "Another thing. If you ever feel you are being followed or someone around you is suspicious, get here immediately. You have too much valuable information to fell into enemy hands."

"I know" the former bastard nodded. They reached Dragonstone soon, where they disembarked. Jaeherys pulled on his hood, which obscured his face for the multitude around him. That might arouse suspicions, but he couldn´t let the Usurper´s brother´s minions see him yet. He had considered other costumes, specially religious figures, like a poor fellow or a septon, but news reached him that Stannis Baratheon didn´t look kindly on followers of the Faith of the Seven.

Driftmark´s domain was spacious, full of beaches and ships, much like White Harbour. Just that bigger and more colourful. More full of life. Except for the people, who seemed to be… unhappy. And rage, too much rage. Especially the silver haired ones. But no one said anything, and why? Because of the mount of guards in yellow and black attires overseeing the people, detailing the occupation of the Baratheon forces. The hidden king lowered his head, making sure to hide well his face, wondering if he should feel surprised they were plotting to overthrow their current lord. It was practically expected if that was the way Stannis was threating his people.

"Through here" Aurane opened a door, practically showing Jon inside the House just when a group of men in Baratheon attire were walking towards them. The bastard looked through a hole in the wall, making sure they continued in their way. "That was Ser Justin Estermont, a cousin of Lord Estermont who came here in Lord Stannis employment. He is now captain of the guards in this town."

"I supposed that meant he didn´t like the valyrian population" muttered Jon, while they waited for the guards to pass. He gritted his teeth in frustration. What have his people been suffering under the Usurper´s reign?

"Let´s just say that if you have just one valyrian feature in your face and cross his way, you end up un one of those horrible dungeons for days before your family can reclaim you" Rane bit his lips. "He caught me a couple of times after my trips to the North, but Monford managed to make my trips to his jail short. And I didn´t say a thing to him."

"They shouldn´t have been necessary for you to visit it at all" finally the soldiers of the city guard passed and the two went out of the abandoned house they have housed themselves in. Aurane took him through a secret passage into the Driftmark castle, directly to Lord Monford Velaryon´s solar.

"Brother, I was waiting for you" the man said when they entered the place. He turned to the man accompanying him. The first thing he did was open his mouth to call him Rhaegar, as he bared a strong resemblance to the late prince, but the differences were obvious. The barely grown man there was like a dark haired, longer faced version of Prince Rhaegar. It could only be… "Your Grace"

"Please, Lord Monford, no need to kneel" Jaeherys helped the older man rose. "You and yours have been my sincere friends since the beginning, I am grateful."

"Your Grace" the lord gripped his shoulders, regret showing in his face. "I am very sorry for our failure to help you or your royal siblings. Had we got a whiff of what the Old Lion and his minions were planning…"

"It doesn´t matter now, we will take revenge soon. All of us" the king said, using all his self-control to keep his royal poise. "Are the other Valyrian Lords on our side? Aurane assured me of their loyalty, but I don´t want any nasty surprises once our plan begins."

"I can personally vouch for their loyalty, your Grace" Monford continued, his brother nodding behind him. "None of the Lords of Dragonstone strayed from their rightful rulers and have little love for the Usurpers" the man tried to guide him out of the room. "Please, your Grace, I prepared a room for you when you announced you were to arrive soon. We even made the maids prepare some of Prince Rhaegar´s old clothes for you. We can adapt them to fit…"

"Not for now, my existence has to remain a secret until we are prepared to conquer" the boy stopped him. "A plain servant´s clothes will be enough for now. But before I want to meet the Valyrian Lords, specially Lord Bar Emmon. It reached my mind that he has a way to know the comings and goings of the stag lord´s household."

"Yes, things have been a little bit strange since he returned so hastily from King´s Landing. Some say he fled the Lannisters"

"Really? Interesting" Aurane bowed and retired to organise a secret meeting of the Valyrian Lords. He sent a simple coded message, so they all know they have to head for the Hall. All of the plotters respond, reuniting in the castle during the night. Jaeherys continued with his train of thoughts, mentally adjusting his plan as he prepared to talk to the Valyrian lords. The bickering Valyrian lords, as he noticed when he stepped into the room. "My lords, My lords! Stop this!" he ordered, making all the eyes land on him. Most of them didn´t look convinced, but they noticed his likeness to his father and Aegon the Conqueror. "Why are you fighting among yourselves? We are all in the same boat here, we should be acting together! Put fear in the hearts of the ones who forced us to bow to them!"

"With all due respect, your Grace" Lord Celtigar begin. "We put our faith in your father and then your brother and it landed us in this situa…"

"I´m not asking you to put your faith in my father or late King Aegon, I´m asking you to trust me" Jaeherys silenced him with a hard look. "I lost as much or way more than any of you with the Usurper´s Rising. I know House Targaryen hasn´t done much to gain or reward the loyalty of our bannermen, but I assure you, I´m not falling you" he said, completely serious. "I have a plan…"

"How do we know this plan is going to take us to victory?"

"Adrian…" Monford tried to calm down the other men.

"Lord Celtigar, I can´t fault you for not having faith" Jaeherys addressed him directly, sighing inwardly. "We suffered a devastating blow just a few years ago when my brother, the king, was murdered, but we have the benefit of them not knowing our plan now. They believe we are leaderless, in chaos, beaten… they underestimate us right now, especially Stannis. And that will end up costing him and his traitor brother. Much"

"I want to see their faces when they realise we played them" someone muttered in the back, making the people in the room smirk a little.

"My lords, I want revenge and I´m sure you too. In my short stay in the island, I have seen how the Usurper´s brother have treated our people" he passed his eyes through the room. "It´s time to set things right."

"You are right, your Grace" Lord Celtigar finally accepted, along with many of his companions. Jaeherys smiled, one step less. "You mentioned a plan, care to tell us?"

"I need to fix some finesses before we can put it into action, but I can tell you that the first step is getting rid of the Stag on Dragonstone once and for all, along with minions" he then stared at a middle aged man on the front. "Lord Bar Emmon, I need to talk to you in private after this"

"Of course, your Grace" the lord answered. The king talked a little bit more before retiring in company of Lord Bar Emmon. Once alone, he offered the man a cup of wine, which he served along with one for himself. They toasted to the success of their Rebellion and drank the Arbor Gold, then the Targaryen passed to the important things.

"I have heard that you have a way to get information straight from the Usurper´s household. Care to tell me about that?"

"It´s not much, I´m afraid" the man said, rubbing his neck. "One of my knights, Ser Jacaerys Beliarys, is sleeping with one of Lady Selyse´s maids. Nice girl, straight from the Reach. She was one of the few selected ones the Florent woman brought after her marriage, so she had the lady´s trust. Sometimes he gets information out of her lips, specially after sex, but…"

"I see, but right now she is the best source of information we have" at least until he properly infiltrates someone, Jaeherys thought. "Has she said something interesting lately?"

"Yes, the last time they have an encounter, shortly after Lord Stannis returned from King´s Landing. Apparently, he has been investigating Robert´s bastards along with Lord Arryn for some unknown reason… something related to Joffrey, Tommen and Myrcella."

"Really?" woow, suddenly this was becoming interesting. What could those two be investigating? The Usurper´s brother and foster father… surely it is something important. Maybe enough to make an attempt to reach his uncle in King´s Landing, just for family´s sake. Maybe.

-In Casterly Rock-

"I´m glad you decided to count with your company despite our last business finishing so many years ago" Lord Tywin Lannister said to the man in front of him as he poured some Arbour Gold for the two of them. "I have the feeling that we are going to need your men by our side before long, specially by how Tyrion describes my grandson."

"Yes, children that age can be difficult" the Old Lion couldn´t help but agree. Or he would, if he didn´t know that Joffrey was always like this, no matter what. He would need a strong hand to guide him when he succeeded his father… and to be taken away from his mother. Cersei always spoiled that boy. "Anyway, I´m sure you have called me for that thing about the Targaryen children we were supposed to kill…"

"It´s a closed thing, Rhaenys and Aegon Targaryen are both dead now, their uncle and aunt in poverty, soon to join them. The Targaryens don´t pose a theat to my family´s legacy now."

"Oh, so they didn´t tell you"

"They didn´t tell me what?" asked the Lord of Casterly Rock, suddenly hardening his eyes. Did Lorch and Clegane hid something from him? "The children and their guardians are dead, they brought back the bodies to prove it. And had they stole money from the sum I owed you for finishing the job, you would have mentioned it years before."

"Yes, but there is something they might have omitted" Homeless Harry continued, revolving a bit. What he was about to do might be a mistake, but now that he had begun with this conversation, he very well might end it. "That night… we accomplished the mission you paid us for. We finished Elia Martell´s children and their guardians, but… there was one more child in the battlefield that night. One that the other two called their Lekia. Brother in Valyrian."

"That´s impossible" Tywin´s blood has suddenly ran cold. The words of the Lannisport witch came back to him, warning him about a child of Targaryen blood that will be his end. "Elia was barren after birthing Aegon and, even if she wasn´t, the babe was too young for her to have conceived…"

"Yes, but… he looked a lot different to the other two, a lot" he raised a finger. "One of my Westerossi men called him a northerner, but…"

"Northerner?" the Lannister suddenly felt a bit dizzy. Lady Lyanna Stark, the Prince´s wayward mistress, was a northerner. What if she birthed him a bastard before she died? A bastard that Connington spirited away along with Rhaegar´s other children? If he had been there that night, the witch could have very well been talking about him. But that couldn´t be, there has been no child when Lord Stark found the Lady Lyanna. And even if there were, it has probably died in Essos, alone and starved in the streets. After all, it was only a child. "Did you see it again after that night?"

"No, but I didn´t find the body in the battlefield, so…" Harry played with his hands. "I told Lorch and Clegane about him, told them to tell you, but… they said they haven´t seen him and that there wasn´t another child in the reunion, but I´m sure they were three, so…"

"I will send someone to gather information" Lord Tywin said, leaving implicitly that if this was a trick to milk more money out of him, Strickland would envy the fate of the Reynes of Castamere. "Meanwhile, I want you to have your men ready if I have need of them. It could be completely unnecessary, but you better respond to the call."

"Of course, Lord Lannister, my men will be ready" Tywin pondered if he should send Adam Marbrand or Kevan to investigate this mysterious Targaryen child. Anyway, that won´t make a difference in his plan. Joffrey Baratheon will be the first King of Lannister blood in centuries, the pinnacle of his legacy, and he won´t let anything get in the middle. Not even this orphaned dragon.

-In King´s Landing-

"My lord, a raven arrived for you" Vayon told his lord, putting a scroll on his desk. Eddard Stark took his eyes away from the finances of the realm enough to take a peek at what was written on the scroll. Immediately he forgot how much Robert wished to spent in the Hand´s Tourney or how much Cersei paid for her last dress. He only could think of… "Jon escaped the Night´s Watch?! Where in the Seven Hells is he now?!"

Arya listened to his scream and wondered why her father sounded so distressed about her favourite brother not wanting to spend his life in the Wall. That way was better after all, no?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now Ned knows. Good luck to him trying to locate his wayward nephew. And Tywin Lannister too, even if he didn´t truly believe the lost Targaryen child is alive... something that might come back to bite him in the ass later. Anyway, Jae is not completely ready to wage war for now, so the history might proceed like in cannon... not completely, but you will see. For now, he is plotting in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity and somehow, I believe the War of the Five Kings will make thousands of them. What do you think? Review!


	12. Chapter 12

Aurane was stocking the Pipefish when he noticed his old friend´s presence in the docks. Jaeherys, for his part, was there to see his friend off and making sure his own ship was getting ready. After all, he was making a trip of his own in a few days. He hasn´t talked much about his own trip, mainly because he didn´t know he was going to do it until he received an invitation from Dorne, which was sent directly to Driftmark. The young king had to admit it, he was impressed by Prince Doran´s spy network. Only a highly skilled one could have located him so quickly after his departure from the Wall. But this was also worrying, as he hadn´t been as secretive as he had hoped with his movements.

"Are you sure this is the best idea?" the legitimized bastard asked as he approached the boy, keeping an eye on the drunk guards near the piers. If one of them remember at least a bit of this conversation… no, they were as drunk as barrels, the real danger was other. "Jon, it´s the bloody Martells. They hate you, no matter what your brother and sister might have felt for you."

"I have to do it" the other answered, knowing full well that he was going to walk into a viper´s nest. "Someone needs to negotiate for Dorne´s loyalty and Prince Doran refuses to do it with anyone but the so called king." He sighed. "I know he considers me a grabby bastard, but I have to at least try… we need more men and resources, without them, we are nothing."

"Your plan to capture Dragonstone…"

"Still leaves us with nothing" Jon continued, sending him a glare. "We already have the Lords of the Narrow Sea and they aren´t enough to start a war with houses as strong as Lannister or Stark. Besides, the Stormlords would never bow to me. Even if I am successful and we got Shireen Baratheon, they would try to betray us." He bit his lip. "I can try to negotiate with the Tyrells, but, without a strong hold on the Throne…"

"You believe the Queen of Thorns would deny her rightful king?" Aurane was in disbelieve. House Tyrell owed everything to House Targaryen, there was no way they would reject their call to war.

"They want a crown and if House Targaryen can´t give it to them… well, I wouldn´t risk it. That´s how I know she wouldn´t. At least not until we have a stronger position" not for the first time, Jaeherys cursed Catelyn Stark and her influence in his relationship to his cousins. If he had managed to bring the North and the Riverlands… well, Ned Stark would never have given him his armies, but perhaps Robb would. "That´s why I have to bring in Dorne."

"I see" Aurane said, still worried. The Red Viper and Prince of the Sun were people to take lightly. If the king didn´t give them what they wanted, they would dispose of him and search for another way. "Just… don´t do anything stupid. And remember that you are not safe there. Doran and Oberyn Martell were your siblings´ family, not yours."

"See this?" he showed him a leather bracelet he had in his arm with a sun and spear. "Rhaenys gave it to me when I was eight namedays old. It was the first time I asked about her and Egg´s skin colour being so different to mine. She explained to me that it was because of their Martell heritage" he covered it again. "It was the first time I realised that we were more different than I thought."

"And why did she gave it to you?"

"She did because she wanted to remind me that we were still a family. And that, believe it or not, I was of Martell blood too… from Queen Mariah Martell. My blood was more diluted than theirs, but I was still part Martell. And dornish" he caressed the thing. He decided to wear Rhaenys´ armband, which he recovered from the bottom of his little coffer of memories, as a reminder to the Princes that he was still their blood, but it still brought a few memories. "You know how was I raised?"

"With your siblings? Did Jon Connington raised you as Targaryens or should I star to worry about you having education from the Stormlands?" joked Aurane.

"Oh, no, Septa Lemore was in charge of that. She was an old friend of Princess Elia… she raised us as dornish" he smiled at the image of his foster mother, remembering her affectionate embrace and voice. "She didn´t knew much of the North, so I ended up not knowing practically anything of my maternal family… in fact, the first House words I learned after my own were the ones of House Martell" he chuckled to himself. "Unbowed, Unbend, Unbroken" he did that again. "Egg found that funny, as I always seemed to forget House Stark´s words when I was little."

"What was so difficult about Winter is Coming?"

"Try to pronounce that at five namedays old" someone came to announce that the Pipefish was ready to sail. The young men looked at each other and embraced before letting each other go. "Remember, I will still be here for a few days. If you find any useful information from your informants in King´s Landing…"

"I will send a raven right away" the silver haired one assured the other. "Remember what I said about the nest of vipers. Rhaenys and Aegon could have considered you Martell enough, but they surely won´t."

"I know" Jaeherys assured, seeing his friend off. He then returned to Driftmark, keeping his head down to hide his Valyrian features. It apparently wasn´t enough, because soon a couple of port guards started to follow him. The boy speed up, ready to run if that was needed to lose them, when someone else pulled him out of the main street, making the guards ignore him. he looked up at his saviour. The man was definitely a knight, given by his family sigil embroidered on his clothes, but also nothing like any knight he had seen. Except maybe Duck, but Duck had been a Reachman. This man seemed like a Crownlander.

"Almost caught you, no, boy?" the man said with a strong accent that definitely wasn´t Valyrian. "Damn those abusive guards to Seven Hells, they are always preying on the weak and vulnerable people. Haven´t they suffered enough?"

"They probably believe that not" Jon answered, pulling his hood higher to obscure his face. If this man was one of Stannis household knights, it was in his best interest not to be recognized later. He bowed, showing the respect noblemen usually appreciate in those they consider inferior. "I thank you, Ser…"

"Ser Davos Seaworth, my boy, and you can drop the formalities" the king cursed inwardly. Not only a knight in Lord Baratheon´s service, but his most loyal advisor. This was having bad luck. "Where do you live? I can take you home if you want."

"It´s no problem, Ser, I am servant in Driftmark. I can get to the castle from here without getting into more troubles" he patted his pack, as if there was something there. "Lord Velaryon is waiting for me, I should better hurry." He turned to make a dash for the castle, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. "Something else, Ser?"

"Your name, if that isn´t much to ask"

"Jace" answered Jaeherys. Jace was a diminutive of Jacaerys, a name much used by the Velaryon lords, so it was common enough in the smallfolk for it to pass as a servant´s name. "If that´s all, Ser…"

"Go ahead, I wouldn't want Lord Velaryon to admonish you" Jon bowed to the knight and run ahead towards his safe refuge. Once in Driftmark, he entered through the servant´s door, leaving his cloak in one of Lord Monford´s most trusted servants. He then went to his bannerman´s solar, where he found him with Adrian Celtigar.

"Stannis is planning something" he announced, very serious. "I had an encounter with Ser Davos Seaworth in my trip back from the port" the two men suddenly became very worried. "Don´t worry, I managed the situation, but his presence here is worrying enough. He wouldn´t be here unless he was called by Stannis himself. The Stag must be planning something, I´m sure of that."

"The same can be said about the Old Lion, your Grace" the Lord of Driftmark said, handing him a letter. "One of our few spies in the Westerlands announced that Ser Addam Marbrand was sent to Essos to look for the remain of the Shy Maiden" the all got silent for a second. "That was the ship you and your siblings lived in while in Essos, no, your Grace?"

"Yes" he answered, not particularly worried about that. Before he left for the North, he made sure to leave some counter measures, to make sure no one can find him through that way, but… "He must have talked to someone from the Golden Company. Someone who was there the night it happened. They were the only ones who knew of me. A soldier, a cadet… Maybe Harry Strickland himself."

"The commander that assure King Aegon´s death?" he nodded. "Should we worry about that?"

"No" Jaeherys stared at his hand, eyeing his ring again. "When he comes back, Ser Adam will bring Lord Tywin the news of a child´s body dressed in Targaryen colours found in the Shy Maid. He will bring back the bones of a boy approximately the same age as King Aegon when he died" he chuckled. "The Old Lion will never feel more victorious in his life… or been more deceived."

"That´s brilliant, your Grace" said Lord Monford, surprised by the extent of the measures taken by the young man to secure his security. "But that doesn´t fix the problem of your encounter with Stannis Baratheon´s favourite knight."

"I don´t think he can identify me as more than a servant boy in Driftmark, as many others. Jace… the little messenger he saved from being attacked by the city guard" he grabbed his dark curls, for once cursing his lack of silver hair. "Maybe it can even work on my advantage… once it´s time to infiltrate Dragonstone´s court." He sighed, letting it go. He looked Valyrian enough with the adequate hairstyle to fool anyone if he needed. He would think about it later, now he had more pressing matters to attend. "But first, we need to focus on my visit to Sunspear."

"Your Grace, I´m going to be frank" Lord Celtigar finally talked. "They are going to ask for a betrothal in exchange of their spears. Yours with Princess Arianne."

"Under other circumstances" Jaeherys began, sighing. Jon Connington has talked about this once, of Doran´s ambitions to put Martell blood on the Throne. That´s why he was giving his support to his exiled nephew and brokered a betrothal for his daughter with Prince Viserys, to reinforce the blood bond. But with him… everything changed. "I would accept the betrothal" that was true. If his brother had lived and his uncle proved unsuitable, he would have accepted to marry the Princess. "But right now, I can´t give them that. The spears of Dorne wouldn´t suffice, I need the Reach and we know what Lady Olenna will demand in exchange of her son´s swords."

"I believed you said the Reach wouldn´t join us" Celtigar looked surprised.

"Not right now and not without a price, but eventually they will" Jon answered, imagining the movements in a cyvasse board. "The tricky part will be making the Martells give us their spears" he bit his lip, trying to think of another way… "Someone will never forgive me for this."

-In King´s Landing-

"Hello, I´m searching for a seamstress that would sew some red silks to my cloak. Can you help me?" Aurane said, showing his black cloak to the girl, who immediately motioned for him to come inside her shop. Daenera was one of the best seamstresses in King´s Landing and a fierce but secret Targaryen loyalist. She usually was commissioned new dresses for Queen Cersei, despite being a valyrian descend that came from Dragonstone, and she used those moments she was allowed to enter the Red Keep to gather information about the royal family from the servants. "What do you have for me today?"

"Not much" she answered dutifully. She has done this for the Velaryons for years, she knew exactly what to search for. Such a good little spy she was. "Lord Stark has been looking into Jon Arryn´s death. He wasn´t so sure that it was natural" she made a sound with her tongue. "He enlisted Petyr Baelish to trace Lord Arryn´s last steps… as if someone can trust that snake of a man."

"I´m aware" the Velaryon did the same sound, remembering the time he saw Baelish dragging some maidens from an orphanage to one of his… establishments. Maidens too young to be deflowered. He was nearly caught by one of the man´s plots once, as he was collecting information for Jon. Daenera too, but they managed to get free. "Another thing?"

"He suspects the Lannisters according to the maids, but doesn´t have evidence, so he asked to talk with Ser Hugh of the Vale, the hastily knighted former squire of Lord Arryn" she stared at him. "Lord Stark is also making some enquires about the whereabouts of his runaway bastard. Lady Sansa´s handmaiden told me that the boy was last seen in Eastwatch by the Sea, boarding a merchant ship with Velaryon sails."

"Really?" now Aurane was really interested. What else did Lord Stark know? Was he aware of Jaeherys presence in Dragonstone? "Did she said something else?"

"Nothing of importance. The maids gossiped about Queen Cersei being unusually interested in the Lady Sansa, but nothing else. The guards could know more, but I didn´t managed to get them to talk" she frowned "His captain of guards is participating in the Tourney of the Hand. Maybe you will have more luck getting information out of him."

"Another thing?"

"King Robert has been more vocal about the execution of the remaining Targaryen children since he heard about Princess Daenerys being wed. Lord Stark didn´t like it. He refuses to be part of a girl´s murder."

"That will surely create friction between them" the Velaryon rubbed his chin. A little bit of friction between those two might be beneficial for them. "We have to do our utmost to take advantage of that. And to make it grow" yes, separating the Riverlands and North from the Stormlands would be beneficial for them. "Anyway, you should keep your eyes and ears open for new information."

"Of course, my lord" she said, receiving a small purse of gold for her efforts. For his part, Aurane walked towards the Red Keep. The tournament was beginning, so there were knights in colourful regalia everywhere, along with some servants and squires among who Aurane could camouflage himself. He thanked the Gods he dyed his hair before coming, as most of them were brunettes. The only bad thing was that Lord Stark´s household knew Rane, his brunette cover for the North, so he needed to be careful.

"Rane?" and, as if he had invoked the knight, Ser Jory Cassel appeared in front of him. The legitimized bastard recovered quickly from the surprise, smiling innocently at the captain of guards. "What are you doing here?"

"I was making a stop to trade some skins in King´s Landing when I heard about the tourney and decided to take a look" he answered, playing innocent. Jory didn´t buy it for a second. He knew Rane, that one was as tricky as Arya Underfoot, being his principal accomplice along with Jon in many of her adventures. "Are you going to participate, Ser?"

"Why so interested?" asked the knight, glaring at him. "Or better, did you have anything to do with Jon´s disappearance from the Wall?" Rane opened his mouth to counter, but the other started to talk first. "I couldn´t help but to notice that you have Velaryon sails stocked on your ship" they stared at each other until Jory sighed. "I wouldn´t blame you if you did. Jon didn´t want to go to the Wall and if you offered him a position in your father´s crew…"

"He is not here, if that´s what you are asking" Aurane said. "He is on another ship from my father´s merchant fleet. He and I decided it´s best to keep clear of the Stark family for a few years, until his Lord Father decides to let it go"

"Good" the knight turned his back to him. "And, Rane, it would be better if you don´t try make contact with the Stark family while you are here. I know you were familiar with them, especially with the Lady Arya, but any contact with someone of your birth would reflect negatively on the young ladies' reputations…"

"Don´t worry, Ser Jory, I´m here to reunite with one of my father´s associates, not to tarnish anyone´s reputation with my baseborn presence" he answered with a bite. "Now, if you excuse me, I have to search a standard of Gulltown. Good day, Ser, and my best wishes. Hope you win and crown one of your young ladies."

"Good luck in your business too" Aurane bowed, muttering asshole low so he doesn´t hear. He then went to the Vale section of the tents, searching for a particular set of colours. The he saw a particularly rich armoured knight exiting from a battered tent.

"Ser Hugh?" the Velaryon approached the former squire of the Hand of the King, catching him unaware. "Care to join me for a few cups? I heard around that you have quite the tale to tell." The knight looked like a deer on the other end of the bow. "Were you really there when the Hand of the King died?"

"No, I…" the man looked around nervously, as if someone was ready to jump on him with a dagger on their hand. Maybe it was accurate, considering the kind of place they were in. "Look, I don´t have anything to say. I already told Lord Stark that I don´t know anything, so please, stop pestering me."

"Lord Stark?" this was curious. He knew the man was investigating the possible murder of Jon Arryn, but he hasn´t taken it seriously until that was mentioned. So, Ser Hugh knew something, but refused to talk about it because of fear. Or perhaps it was because he was bribed, as that armour certainly wasn´t bought with his personal wealth. And perhaps the death of that falcon wasn´t as natural as it seemed. Anyway, it was worth investigating.

Covering himself again, he slithered towards the Tower of the Hand. He entered Lord Stark´s private solar, barely passing the guards. He then looked around the place, finding a book about the lineages in Westeros and some notes about the King´s bastards. Now that was interesting, why was Lord Stark showing interest in the King´s Bastards? He picked up the book, opening it in a page. The Baratheon family tree? Wait, there was an inconsistency in the last generation. Why were Prince Joffrey and his siblings blonde when all the Baratheons before them were black of hair? Even those with Lannister blood…

He exited the Tower of the Hand a few minutes later with more questions than answers. Wondering what was happening, he sat down in the stalls full of smallfolk, watching the matched as he tried to make sense of what he had found, when a murmur of disgust extended through the people around him. He raised his head, only to see Ser Hugh go against the Mountain, only to end up dead. Then Aurane understood. Ser Hugh was silenced, so the greatest clue to solve Jon Arryn´s murder was buried. The Lannisters were the main suspects, as Clegane was their man… but he couldn´t cross out anyone, as the brute often sell his services as a hired knife. But there was one thing Aurane was sure of. Jon Arryn has been murdered to keep a secret hidden, the same as his squire. The questions to make after those statements were: Were the Lannisters guilty? Not sure, need more investigation. What have Robert´s bastards to do with it? Definitely need more investigation. Did the secret have anything to do with the Throne? Investigation, investigation, more investigation…

"This doesn't have an end" muttered Aurane before pulling out a paper and writing a letter. "Jon needs to hear about it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, Jaeherys is setting off to see the Martells and Aurane is keeping an eye on King´s Landing for the time being. Will he be able to reveal the plot Baelish made to kill the Lord of the Vale? Will Jae be able to convince Doran Martell that it´s in Dorne´s best interests to help him in his Conquest? Or will he fail before he is even tried? Review!


	13. Chapter 13

“This is really strange” commented Jaeherys, trying to make sense of Aurane´s message. It arrived to Driftmark just before he set off to Dorne and, after all this days, it still doesn´t make much sense. Robert´s bastards, Jon Arryn being murdered, Ser Hugh being murdered, his uncle being nosy… it looked like the recipe for disaster. And, for some reason, he believed his reasoning wasn´t very far from truth, especially considering his uncle´s character.

“Your Grace” a Celtigar knight entered his cabin, making the boy lift his eyes from the message. “We are about to dock in Sunspear. Please, don your cloak until you are safely inside the castle.”

“Of course” he said, putting on his dark cloak. The young king neglected comment that he wasn´t safe anywhere near those vipers, rubbing his sister´s bracelet for luck. Then he prepared himself, mentally evoking the image of Rhaenys and Aegon, reminding himself that this was their family. His family… distant family. Unlike the Starks.

“I´m Areo Hotah” the man who received them in secret announced, not bothering to bow to them. “I´m here to escort the Lady Lyanna´s son to the Prince of Dorne.”

“Very well, captain Hotah” Jaeherys nodded, carefully noting his words, but not showing him any signs of being offended by them. After all, he knew that the dornish wouldn´t call him their king so soon. At least not the Martells, who consider him illegitimate and an insult to Princess Elia. 

“Jaeherys Sand” Doran Martell said as he received the child of the woman who dishonoured his sister in his private solar. The king´s valyrian escort were outrageous at his disrespect, but this one stopped them with a hand sign. If he let insults like this get to his head, he would have never survived Lady Stark. 

“I have used Snow for quite some time. If you are going to use a bastard name for me, I would be more comfortable with one familiar” he continued with the conversation, as Prince Oberyn huffed. He wanted to ran his spear through this child, but at the same time… he couldn´t hold him responsible for the actions of his parents. 

“Jaeherys Snow, then” Doran continued, offering him a seat. He was about to say something else, but the boy acted before he did, offering him a little wooden box with the heraldry of House Martell. He opened it only to find Rhaenys necklace… his own mother´s necklace. The last time he had seen it was when his sister donned it at their mother´s funeral, shortly after she became Crown Princess. “Mostly unusual”

“How so?” he asked. “Rhaenys and Aegon were my beloved siblings, returning their mother´s necklace to it´s rightful owners. Besides, I wanted to pay my respects to you and, now that I´m more free to move, offer my condolences to you as a fellow grieving family member.”

“Thank you” the prince said, not believing it at all. “I have wanted to know you for quite some time, if I´m sincere. Not all bastards would have returned a necklace like that…”

“With all due respect, my prince, not all bastards are treated as part of the family north of Dorne. At least not like you treat your own bastards” he sneaked a glance to the Red Viper. “And the necklace wasn´t mine to keep.” 

“True, but no one knew you still had it. BESIDES, in your position, few would grieve the loss of a legitimate older brother and sister, specially when he was left the only acceptable male heir to Throne.”

“Few are like me… or maybe not so much here” Jon made eye contact with Prince Oberyn then. “Tell me, my prince, would your daughters ever try to steal their cousin´s rightful place? Would any of them declared herself Princess of Dorne over your niece, the one they love as another sister?”

“NEVER!!”

“It´s the same with me” the young man continued. “I know that my legitimacy is questionable in the best of cases for you, but that doesn´t change the fact that I loved your niece and nephew. We were raised together as siblings, fought together, went everywhere together… I loved them more than I could tell, I still love them now that they are dead and my rage burns deep inside my soul, so much that I won´t stop until I have brought all of the culprits before justice.”

“Still found it hard to believe, seeing how much you gained from their untimely death. Now, I´m not saying that you had anything to do with the attack that night” finally some truth. At least they all blamed the same people for this, thought Jon. “But being the sole survivor that night served you right.”

“My Prince, I didn´t mean to survive that night…”

“But you did, which serves this family not” Jaeherys frowned. Down to business already, Doran Martell was really a non-nonsense man. “Which brings us here this day.”

“I came freely to negotiate, as no one of us want a Lannister on the Throne…”

“That´s the only thing we are together in, bastard” Oberyn talked for the first time since he entered the room, earning a glare from his brother.

“Oberyn…”

“Just tell him, Doran, there is no need to dilate this longer” the Red Viper said, responding to his brother´s look. “Tell him that he would not get the spears of Dorne…”

“Oberyn, wait outside. Areo, make sure he waits outside” he ordered his captain, who quickly escorted the younger prince out of the chamber. “I apologize for my brother´s outburst, Snow, but that´s not far from the truth… which could change under certain circumstances.”

“Just tell me it straight, which are your demands for Dorne´s help?”

“Very well” the prince moved a little bit to look at him better. “First of all, your legitimacy is a problem. I know the documents to prove the legal marriage of your parents existed, but many of them would still doubt…” Jon saw where he was going, trying to play him right into his hands. “The acceptation of your father´s first wife´s family could do wonders to render any of your retractor´s claims useless.”

“You are saying that I need you more than you need me?”

“You are not the only Targaryen claimant out there, you know?” Doran smiled. “Now, when my nephew died, I sent my brother Prince Oberyn to arrange a marriage between my daughter, Princess Arianne, and the next heir of unquestionable legitimacy, Prince Viserys Targaryen.”

“Uncle Viserys?” he knew of the man, but Connington never had anything good to say about him. “I don´t know what you might have heard…”

“We already know about his less than savoury tendencies, so we would like to avoid this marriage” so they wanted a claim to the Throne, but not a madman. “So we, House Martell, are prepared to accept your legitimacy and claim it was Elia´s actual request as long as you accept to marry Princess Arianne and make her your Queen.”

“So, the price for the spears of Dorne is Dornish blood on the Throne? When it already is on it?” he asked, knowing full well that he couldn´t accept. He needed the Tyrells, after all, and their price would be their blood on the Throne. He couldn´t content both, not without another controversial marriage that could end his reign before it actually begins. “I can give you a counteroffer.”

“I´m afraid this is undebatable.”

“Would you at least listen to the counteroffer before deciding to sell your daughter to a madman that would beat his sister?” he said, stopping Doran. “I can give you a betrothal between my heir and a child of Princess Arianne or Prince Quentyn, the one whose age would be more appropriate. And I also can give you my cousin, Lady Arya Stark, as a bride for your son…”

“You can´t promise any of your uncle´s children without their support…”

“My uncle has nothing to do with this, I have Arya” or Aurane was already working in extracting her and bringing her to Dragonstone. “And A Lady of House Stark…”

“We already know what a Lady of House Stark can do, Snow, your mother was a good example of that. Didn´t she broke a vase on Robert Baratheon´s head back at Harrenhal?”

“When the man was trying to rape her and beating her younger brother, my lord” Jon smiled proudly. “Tell me, your daughter wouldn´t have done the same if someone tried something like that on her and Prince Trystane?”

“No, Arianne would have knifed him on the heart”

“Works too”

“But that doesn´t change anything. I can understand Lady Lyanna´s need to escape such an atrocious betrothal and I´m sure Elia could too, but there are other ways. Some of them that doesn´t end with a Princess of Dorne shamed before the whole Realm” the Martell Prince rose as high as his goat allowed. “But it´s all irrelevant. Answer me this, Snow, why should we help you? If you were married to Arianne, if you were family, we would have a reason, but as it is now, we don´t. And as long as I see, not even your own blood uncle would support you.”

“Am I not family? Was I not your niece´s and nephew´s brother, who cared for them most in the world?” he was now offended. He has spent years being treated as less than family by the Starks, he wouldn´t stand that now. Not even from far blood relatives. “Rhaenys and Aegon were all I had.”

“Family to them, but not ours. And you shamed our sister…”

“Am I not of dornish blood? Of Martell blood?” he continued, fire in his eyes. “I am a descendant of Mariah Martell and Dyanna Dayne, tying me to you by blood. Rhaenys never let me forget my dornish roots, that Rhyonish blood flows through my veins just like in theirs…”

“Very diluted”

“That was not what she said” he said. “She said that we all were dornish as much as valyrian. Besides, I was raised by two Martell´s side, by a bannerman of House Martell´s daughter. I am as Martell as them” Doran stayed calm. He would be lying if he said that he didn´t see anything Martell on him, but… he could see the northman more clearly. And he wouldn´t let the son of woman who shamed his sister to rise to his nephew´s Throne, not without a dornish consort by his side to secure his interests. “I will win, my prince, for them as much as we. Like Rhaenys herself said, Winter will come for House Baratheon with Fire and Blood and we will rise Unbowed, Unbend, Unbroken.”

“Be as it may, but it´s not enough for us. You marry Princess Arianne or the spears of Dorne won´t follow you.”  
“Princess Arianne shouldn´t be here for the…”

“My prince” captain Hotah returned. Doran was about to scold him for interrupting their negotiations when he saw the expression his guard had. “The Hand of the King has taken advantage of the King´s Tourney to send something to you, the guards are already loading it into the sept.”

“The sept?” the man asked, a little bit confusing. “What is it?”

“The bodies of Princess Rhaenys, King Aegon, Lady Ashara Dayne, Lord Jon Connington and the knight that protected them that night”

Jaeherys felt as if a bucket of cold water has been dropped on top of him. The bodies of his family and friends… here? And sent by his uncle? How could… Rage started to wash over him as he realised the reason. Eddard Stark has sent them to find him, to uncover him. He had guessed right that he would be negotiating with the Martells, so he sent the bodies with some of his men to find him and probably return him to the Wall. But he kept it composed. He kept his cold in front of his hosts, because once he was alone in his room…

“THAT BASTARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” he exploded, throwing things around.

-Later-

Doran Martell was wheeled into the sept after he arranged the moving of Jon Connington´s and Ashara Dayne´s remains to Starfall and Griffin´s Roost so their families could bury them. Rhaenys and Aegon along with the knight were still in the sept, being cried by many dornishmen and women who were present at the Martell court. His daughter, Princess Arianne, was also there, for once dressed in a conservative black silken dress and veil. Somehow, she managed to look beautiful despite this. How could someone reject her? He asked himself. His daughter was more beautiful than any maiden… He noticed also that Jaeherys Targaryen was nowhere to be seen. How could he not be there? He claimed he loved his siblings so much… then he noticed the northmen between his people. Oh, so that was the reason.

“Father” Ari greeted him, bowing respectfully but with some bite about her. So she was still mad about him not making her the heir. “I´m reassured by your presence in this dark hours.”

“Not so dark, not when we could finally put your cousins to rest besides their dear mother” the man answered, gripping her hand. She should get over that, he was trying to make her Queen! “I only wish they would have joined us alive and well.”

“As we all do” she continued with the conversation. “Father, I wanted to talk to… what is that?”

Doran and Oberyn, who just joined with the Sand Snakes, also raised their heads when a beautiful sound started to flood the sept, stopping even the silent sisters tending to the bodies. And how could they not stop? It was so beautiful, more now that a voice joined it. A voice that was carrying High Valyrian words, as he could recognize. Mournful and sentimental, the owner sounded even more beautiful than Rhaegar Targaryen as he, on the verge of tears, sang to the dead. A Lament for the Dead, an ancient Valyrian tradition, Doran recognized. And it could only come from a member of the family.

Jaeherys, for his part, continued playing from his hiding spot. He was lucky to find a place in the sept where he could stay well out of the funeral attendant´s view and at the same time be heard by everyone inside. Being dressed in black also helped, as it helped him stay hidden from Jory and other guards he recognized from Winterfell. From his hiding spot, he could see them looking for him, but won´t allow that. Not now that he put things into motion. He only lamented that he couldn´t be openly present there, in his own siblings proper funeral, something that Robert never allowed them to have. Well, no one said he couldn´t stay until late.  
Hours later, when everyone had left, the Targaryen got out of his hiding spot. Or at least he thought everybody left. As he knelt down in front of Aegon´s coffin to pray, he saw Oberyn Martell approach him, enraged. He could see the man´s train of thought as if he had expressed it: how did he dare to desecrate his nephew´s resting place?! He who had benefit more of his death!! He was mistaken, of course, but… how to show him?

“Do you want to kill me, my prince?” the boy rose with tears in his eyes. They have fallen all the funeral and didn´t seem to stop. Like he never run out of fresh ones. “I remember him very well from our childhood. He and me… we were like twins. And at the same time, he acted so much like the responsible older brother that I couldn´t help but feel like I was ten years younger.” he chuckled. “Or he tried, at least. He wasn´t much responsible outside of court training or politics.”

“No?” the older man looked surprised by that. Little Aegon was King, wasn´t he supposed to be responsible all time? 

“Oh, no” Jaeherys smiled despite his pain. A sad smile, as sincere as he could, now that he was remembering the good times long past. “The responsible one was Rhaenys. She was all strength and poise, showing her best face to everybody and playing the game behind her mask. Better brains for cyvasse than the collective lot of us together” his smile fell. “She died with a spear in her hand… a true Princess of Dorne until the last moment.”

“And the knight?”

“Rolly? He is the only reason I´m still alive now” he turned to the last coffin in the room. “He wasn´t a knight when we met him, but versed on the art of swords enough to become our instructor. Jon… Lord Connington knighted him for that. And made him Kingsguard” he bit his lip for a moment, then looked at his hands. “That night… when we were betrayed… he did as he could.”

“He choose to save you, not his king”

“Sometimes I wish he had not” he breathed in hard. “The Mountain had already teared a hole on Aegon side, one that I was desperately trying to seal with a bloody rag. Then I saw Rhaenys getting knifed by that Lorch knight… Gods, I wish to forget so much, but I never could” he looked back to the wooden thing. “Rolly must have understood there was no other way, the same as Aegon… but he would never leave him alone, he was his favourite…” tears fell. “Rolly knocked me unconscious and threw me somewhere the attackers won´t worry to look at. And was captured, of course, protecting his king.”

“Robert Baratheon bashed his head in” Oberyn continued. “And you? What did you do after seeing your family getting killed in front of you?”

“Kneel into the battlefield and scream until I was hoarse. Also search for them like possessed, wish it was me instead of them… I have wished that every night since then” Jaeherys admitted. “What else could I have done? I was like in a trance. It wasn´t until I found this” he showed his ring with the Targaryen seal to the prince. “That I understood what I must do. And it will be done, with or without Dorne´s help” he sighed. “Now, my prince, I think we have talked too long. I will take my leave. I bid you a good night.”

“Wait” Oberyn stopped him. “Was… anything you said true?”

“Whatever I answer, my prince, it´s up to you to believe. So I will leave deciding that up to you” the boy answered. “I only have this advice to give you: to cherish the time you spent with your brother. You never know how much time you have left with him.”

And he left. Oberyn turned to one of the columns of the sept, from where Hotah wheeled Doran off. The younger prince turned to his brother, that last advice still fresh in his mind.

“Do you believe him?” he asked.

“I don´t know, but… at least his pain was real, I´m confident of that” the Prince of Dorne accepted. “It doesn´t mean I will give him the spears of Dorne without him making Arianne Queen, but... at least we can we reassured that our niece and nephew were beloved by someone before their deaths. Unless he is a pretty good actor, of course, enough to fool me.”

“Is he”

“No” assured Doran. “We will invite him to break his fast tomorrow. I will have my answer by then. Oh, and contact the Daynes. I am against on principle of a Stark Princess of Dorne, but a Lady of Starfall… that might work. Specially if she had children who can marry into House Martell.”

“Are you really pondering this?”

“There is nothing against making contingence plans” 

Meanwhile, the king had returned to his room. Jaeherys was indeed a good actor. He could fake an emotion perfectly, wear a poker face that would put Tywin Lannister to shame and plot someone´s death showing that person a perfectly innocent smile. But that was not the problem there. No. The problem was showing weakness. The problem, he recognized as he knelt down on his room to sob and cry, was that, in this situation, it was real.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!!! I know I haven´t actualize this fic for quite some time, but I finally got the inspiration to write the encounter between Jon and the Martells, so... why wasting it? Anyway, Jon managed to make Doran accept him as a contingence plan, if everything else fails. And as we know, Viserys is... well, let´s see how that ends. Dear Ned, on the other side... he is no political mastermind, don´t worry. He will still screw it up. He just believed that if he gave Jon the chance to bury his siblings he would be able to find him or rethink his desicion to lay a claim on the Throne. Instead, he was only poking at an open wound on the heart of a furious dragon who is going to soon be let loose on them all. How is that going to end? Merry Christmas to everyone!!!

**Author's Note:**

> What do you think? I always wondered what would have happened had Griff been the one to raise Jon instead of Ned. Perhaps he would have been more confident... or not? And Aegon and Rhaenys, I also wanted to try imagining how it could have been with them growing up with Jon. I don´t plan on keeping the Stark children completely out of the history, but... well, later you are going to understand. Just don´t hate me when a plot twist happened. Review!


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